10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks,colorlinks=true]{hyperref}
36 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v0.14}
37 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
38 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
40 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
42 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
43 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
44 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
49 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
52 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
56 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
57 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
58 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnuskey}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
60 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
61 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
64 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
66 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
67 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
72 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
73 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
74 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
75 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
76 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
77 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
78 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
80 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
83 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
84 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
86 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
87 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
88 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
91 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
93 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
100 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
102 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
104 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
105 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
106 \thispagestyle{empty}
108 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
109 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
110 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
115 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
117 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
124 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
125 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
128 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
129 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
132 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
133 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
136 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
137 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
140 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
142 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
143 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
147 \newenvironment{codelist}%
152 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
158 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
163 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
168 \newenvironment{samplist}%
173 \newenvironment{varlist}%
178 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
183 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
184 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
185 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
187 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
192 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
196 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
205 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
207 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
212 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
217 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
221 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
229 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
231 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
241 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
245 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
253 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
255 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
260 \pagenumbering{roman}
261 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
271 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
272 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
274 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
276 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
279 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
289 \thispagestyle{empty}
291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The Gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.14.
399 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
400 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
402 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
403 being accused of plagiarism:
405 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
406 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
407 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
408 can even read news with it!
410 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
411 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
412 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
413 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
414 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
420 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
421 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
422 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
423 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
424 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
425 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
426 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
427 * Various:: General purpose settings.
428 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
429 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
430 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
431 * Key Index:: Key Index.
433 Other related manuals
435 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
436 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
437 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
438 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
441 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
445 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
446 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
447 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
448 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
449 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
450 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
451 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
452 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
453 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
454 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
455 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
459 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
460 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
461 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
465 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
466 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
467 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
468 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
469 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
470 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
471 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
472 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
473 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
474 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
475 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
476 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
477 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
478 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
479 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
480 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
481 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
485 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
486 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
487 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
491 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
492 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
493 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
494 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
495 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
499 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
500 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
501 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
502 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
503 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
507 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
508 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
509 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
510 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
511 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
512 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
513 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
514 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
515 * Threading:: How threads are made.
516 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
517 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
518 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
519 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
520 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
521 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
522 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
523 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
524 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
525 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
526 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
527 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
528 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
529 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
530 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
531 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
532 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
533 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
534 or reselecting the current group.
535 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
536 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
537 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
538 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
540 Summary Buffer Format
542 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
543 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
544 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
545 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
549 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
550 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
552 Reply, Followup and Post
554 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
555 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
556 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
557 * Canceling and Superseding::
561 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
562 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
563 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
565 * Generic Marking Commands::
566 * Setting Process Marks::
570 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
571 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
572 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
576 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
577 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
579 Customizing Threading
581 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
582 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
583 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
584 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
588 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
589 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
590 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
591 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
592 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
593 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
597 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
598 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
599 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
603 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
604 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
605 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
606 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
607 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
608 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
609 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
610 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
611 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
612 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
614 Alternative Approaches
616 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
617 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
619 Various Summary Stuff
621 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
622 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
623 * Summary Generation Commands::
624 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
628 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
629 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
630 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
631 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
632 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
636 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
637 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
638 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
639 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
640 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
641 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
642 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
643 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
647 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
648 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
649 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
650 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
651 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
652 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
653 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
654 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
658 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
659 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
660 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
661 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
662 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
663 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
664 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
668 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
669 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
673 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
674 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
675 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
679 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
680 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
681 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
682 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
683 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
684 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
685 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
686 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
687 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
688 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
689 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
690 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
691 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
695 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
696 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
697 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
699 Choosing a Mail Back End
701 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
702 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
703 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
704 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
705 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
706 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
711 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
712 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
713 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
714 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
715 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
716 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
720 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
721 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
722 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
723 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
724 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
728 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
729 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
730 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
731 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
732 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
736 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
740 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
741 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
742 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
746 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
747 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
751 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
752 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
753 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
754 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
755 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
756 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
757 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
758 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
759 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
760 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
761 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
762 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
766 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
767 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
768 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
772 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
773 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
774 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
778 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
779 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
780 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
781 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
782 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
783 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
784 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
785 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
786 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
787 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
788 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
789 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
790 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
791 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
792 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
793 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
794 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
798 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
799 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
800 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
801 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
805 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
806 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
807 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
811 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
812 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
813 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
814 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
815 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
816 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
817 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
818 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
819 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
820 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
821 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
822 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
833 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
834 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
835 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
836 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
837 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
838 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
839 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
840 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
844 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
845 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
846 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
847 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
851 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
852 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
853 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
854 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
856 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
860 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
861 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
862 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
863 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
864 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
865 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
866 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
867 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
868 * Frequently Asked Questions::
872 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
873 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
874 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
875 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
876 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
877 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
878 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
879 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
880 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
884 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
885 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
886 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
887 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
888 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
892 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
893 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
894 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
895 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
899 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
900 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
901 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
902 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
903 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
904 * Group Info:: The group info format.
905 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
906 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
907 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
911 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
912 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
913 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
914 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
915 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
916 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
920 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
921 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
925 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
926 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
932 @chapter Starting Gnus
937 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
938 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
941 @findex gnus-other-frame
942 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
943 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
944 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
946 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
947 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
948 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
950 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
951 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
954 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
955 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
956 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
957 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
958 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
959 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
960 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
961 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
962 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
963 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
964 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
968 @node Finding the News
969 @section Finding the News
972 @vindex gnus-select-method
974 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
975 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
976 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
977 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
980 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
981 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
984 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
987 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
990 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
993 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
994 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
995 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
997 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
999 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1000 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1001 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1002 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1003 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1004 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1007 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1008 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1009 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1011 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1012 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1013 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1014 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1015 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1016 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1017 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1018 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1019 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1022 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1024 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1025 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1026 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1027 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1028 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1029 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1033 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1035 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1036 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1037 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1038 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1041 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1042 you would typically set this variable to
1045 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1049 @node The First Time
1050 @section The First Time
1051 @cindex first time usage
1053 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1054 be subscribed by default.
1056 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1057 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1058 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1059 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1062 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1063 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1064 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1066 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1067 help you with most common problems.
1069 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1070 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1074 @node The Server is Down
1075 @section The Server is Down
1076 @cindex server errors
1078 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1079 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1080 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1082 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1083 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1084 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1085 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1086 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1087 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1088 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1090 @findex gnus-no-server
1091 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1093 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1094 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1095 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1096 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1097 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1098 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1099 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1103 @section Slave Gnusae
1106 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1107 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1108 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1109 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1111 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1112 @file{.newsrc} file.
1114 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1115 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1116 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1117 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1118 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1119 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1120 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1123 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1124 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1125 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1126 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1127 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1128 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1129 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1130 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1132 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1133 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1135 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1136 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1137 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1138 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1139 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1141 @node Fetching a Group
1142 @section Fetching a Group
1143 @cindex fetching a group
1145 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1146 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1147 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1148 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1149 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1150 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1156 @cindex subscription
1158 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1159 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1160 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1161 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1162 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1163 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1164 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1165 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1166 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1169 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1170 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1171 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1175 @node Checking New Groups
1176 @subsection Checking New Groups
1178 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1179 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1180 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1181 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1182 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1183 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1184 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1185 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1186 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1187 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1189 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1190 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1191 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1192 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1193 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1194 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1195 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1196 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1197 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1198 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1199 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1201 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1202 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1203 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1204 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1205 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1206 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1209 @node Subscription Methods
1210 @subsection Subscription Methods
1212 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1213 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1214 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1216 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1217 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1219 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1225 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1226 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1227 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1229 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1230 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1231 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1232 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1234 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1236 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1240 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1241 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1242 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1243 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1244 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1245 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1246 up. Or something like that.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1250 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1251 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1252 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1254 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1255 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1256 Kill all new groups.
1258 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1259 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1260 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1261 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1262 topic parameter that looks like
1268 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1271 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1276 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1277 A closely related variable is
1278 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1279 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1280 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1281 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1284 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1285 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1286 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1287 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1290 @node Filtering New Groups
1291 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1293 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1294 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1295 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1298 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1301 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1302 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1303 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1304 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1305 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1306 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1307 subscribing these groups.
1308 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1309 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1311 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1312 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1313 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1314 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1315 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1316 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1317 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1318 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1320 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1321 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1322 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1323 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1324 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1325 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1326 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1327 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1328 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1329 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1332 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1333 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1336 @node Changing Servers
1337 @section Changing Servers
1338 @cindex changing servers
1340 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1341 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1342 very flaky and you want to use another.
1344 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1345 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1349 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1350 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1351 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1352 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1355 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1356 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1357 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1358 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1360 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1361 @findex gnus-change-server
1362 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1363 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1364 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1365 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1366 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1368 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1369 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1370 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1371 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1372 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1374 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1375 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1376 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1377 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1378 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1379 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1381 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1382 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1383 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1384 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1386 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1387 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1388 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1389 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1390 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1391 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1392 cache for all groups).
1396 @section Startup Files
1397 @cindex startup files
1402 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1403 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1405 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1406 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1407 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1408 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1409 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1410 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1411 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1413 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1414 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1415 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1416 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1417 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1418 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1420 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1421 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1422 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1423 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1424 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1425 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1426 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1427 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1428 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1429 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1431 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1432 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1433 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1434 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1435 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1436 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1437 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1438 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1439 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1440 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1441 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1442 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1444 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1445 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1446 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1447 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1449 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1450 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1451 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1452 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1453 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1454 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1455 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1456 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1457 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1458 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1461 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1462 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1464 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1465 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1468 @vindex gnus-init-file
1469 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1470 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1471 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1472 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1473 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1474 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1475 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1476 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1477 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1478 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1484 @cindex dribble file
1487 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1488 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1489 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1490 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1491 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1494 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1495 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1498 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1499 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1500 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1502 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1503 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1504 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1505 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1506 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1507 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1509 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1510 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1511 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1514 @node The Active File
1515 @section The Active File
1517 @cindex ignored groups
1519 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1520 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1521 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1523 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1524 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1525 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1526 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1527 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1528 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1529 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1532 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1533 @c if you set it to anything else.
1535 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1537 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1538 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1539 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1541 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1542 you actually subscribe to.
1544 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1545 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1546 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1547 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1549 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1550 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1551 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1552 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1553 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1554 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1556 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1557 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1558 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1561 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1562 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1563 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1564 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1565 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1566 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1568 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1569 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1571 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1572 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1574 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1575 secondary select methods.
1578 @node Startup Variables
1579 @section Startup Variables
1583 @item gnus-load-hook
1584 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1585 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1586 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1587 times you start Gnus.
1589 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1591 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1593 @item gnus-startup-hook
1594 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1595 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1597 @item gnus-started-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1599 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1602 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1603 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1604 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1605 generating the group buffer.
1607 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1608 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1609 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1610 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1611 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1612 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1613 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1614 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1616 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1617 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1618 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1619 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1620 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1621 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1623 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1624 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1625 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1627 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1628 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1629 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1631 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1632 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1633 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1634 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1640 @chapter Group Buffer
1641 @cindex group buffer
1643 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1645 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1646 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1647 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1648 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1649 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1650 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1651 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1652 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1653 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1654 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1655 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1656 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1657 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1658 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1659 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1660 @c human rights at 9...
1663 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1664 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1665 long as Gnus is active.
1669 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1670 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1671 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1672 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1673 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1674 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1675 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1676 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1682 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1683 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1684 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1685 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1686 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1687 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1688 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1689 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1690 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1691 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1692 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1693 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1694 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1695 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1696 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1697 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1698 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1702 @node Group Buffer Format
1703 @section Group Buffer Format
1706 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1707 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1708 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1712 @node Group Line Specification
1713 @subsection Group Line Specification
1714 @cindex group buffer format
1716 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1717 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1719 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1722 25: news.announce.newusers
1723 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1728 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1729 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1730 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1731 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1733 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1734 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1735 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1736 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1737 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1738 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1740 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1742 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1743 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1744 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1745 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1746 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1748 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1749 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1750 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1752 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1757 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1760 Whether the group is subscribed.
1763 Level of subscribedness.
1766 Number of unread articles.
1769 Number of dormant articles.
1772 Number of ticked articles.
1775 Number of read articles.
1778 Number of unseen articles.
1781 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1782 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1784 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1785 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1786 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1787 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1788 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1789 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1790 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1791 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1794 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1797 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1806 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1807 comment element in the group parameters.
1810 Newsgroup description.
1813 @samp{m} if moderated.
1816 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1822 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1828 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1832 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1835 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1836 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1837 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1838 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1839 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1842 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1844 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1848 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1851 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1855 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1856 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1857 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1858 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1859 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1860 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1865 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1866 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1867 group, or a bogus native group.
1870 @node Group Modeline Specification
1871 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1872 @cindex group modeline
1874 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1875 The mode line can be changed by setting
1876 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1877 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1881 The native news server.
1883 The native select method.
1887 @node Group Highlighting
1888 @subsection Group Highlighting
1889 @cindex highlighting
1890 @cindex group highlighting
1892 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1893 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1894 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1895 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1896 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1898 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1902 (cond (window-system
1903 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1904 (defface my-group-face-1
1905 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1906 (defface my-group-face-2
1907 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1908 (defface my-group-face-3
1909 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1910 (defface my-group-face-4
1911 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1912 (defface my-group-face-5
1913 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1915 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1916 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1917 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1918 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1919 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1920 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1923 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1925 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1932 The number of unread articles in the group.
1936 Whether the group is a mail group.
1938 The level of the group.
1940 The score of the group.
1942 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1944 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1945 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1947 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1948 topic being inserted.
1951 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1952 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1953 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1955 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1956 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1957 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1958 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1959 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1962 @node Group Maneuvering
1963 @section Group Maneuvering
1964 @cindex group movement
1966 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1967 expected, hopefully.
1973 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1974 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1975 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1981 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1982 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1983 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1987 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1988 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1992 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1993 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1997 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1998 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1999 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2004 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2005 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2008 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2014 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2015 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2016 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2021 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2022 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2023 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2027 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2028 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2029 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2032 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2033 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2034 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2035 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2039 @node Selecting a Group
2040 @section Selecting a Group
2041 @cindex group selection
2046 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2047 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2048 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2049 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2050 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2051 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2052 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2053 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2054 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2055 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2057 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2058 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2059 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2061 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2062 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2067 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2068 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2069 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2070 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2071 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2075 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2076 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2077 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2078 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2079 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2080 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2081 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2082 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2083 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2084 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2087 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2088 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2089 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2090 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2091 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2094 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2095 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2096 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2097 doing any processing of its contents
2098 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2099 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2100 manner will have no permanent effects.
2104 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2105 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2106 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2107 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2108 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2109 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2110 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2111 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2114 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2115 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2116 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2117 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2118 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2119 Which article this is is controlled by the
2120 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2126 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2129 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2132 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2134 @item unseen-or-unread
2135 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2136 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2140 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2144 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2145 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2147 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2148 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2149 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2150 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2154 @node Subscription Commands
2155 @section Subscription Commands
2156 @cindex subscription
2164 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2165 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2166 Toggle subscription to the current group
2167 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2173 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2174 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2175 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2176 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2182 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2183 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2184 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2190 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2191 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2194 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2195 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2196 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2197 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2198 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2204 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2205 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2209 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2210 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2213 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2214 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2215 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2216 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2217 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2218 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2219 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2220 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2221 @file{.newsrc} file.
2225 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2235 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2236 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2237 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2238 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2239 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2240 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2245 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2246 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2247 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2251 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2252 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2253 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2255 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2256 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2257 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2258 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2259 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2260 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2267 @section Group Levels
2271 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2272 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2273 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2274 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2275 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2277 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2283 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2284 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2285 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2286 prompted for a level.
2289 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2290 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2291 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2292 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2293 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2294 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2295 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2296 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2297 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2298 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2299 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2300 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2301 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2302 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2303 reasons of efficiency.
2305 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2306 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2308 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2309 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2310 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2311 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2312 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2313 groups are hidden, in a way.
2315 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2316 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2317 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2318 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2319 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2320 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2322 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2323 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2324 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2325 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2326 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2327 list of killed groups.)
2329 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2330 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2331 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2333 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2334 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2335 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2336 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2337 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2338 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2339 relevant valid ranges.
2341 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2342 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2343 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2344 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2345 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2346 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2349 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2350 one with the best level.
2352 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2353 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2354 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2357 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2358 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2359 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2360 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2363 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2364 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2365 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2366 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2368 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2369 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2370 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2371 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2372 to 5. The default is 6.
2376 @section Group Score
2381 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2382 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2383 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2386 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2387 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2388 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2389 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2390 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2391 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2392 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2393 least significant part.))
2395 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2396 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2397 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2398 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2399 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2400 action after each summary exit, you can add
2401 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2402 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2403 slow things down somewhat.
2406 @node Marking Groups
2407 @section Marking Groups
2408 @cindex marking groups
2410 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2411 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2412 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2413 bidding on those groups.
2415 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2416 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2417 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2425 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2426 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2432 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2433 Remove the mark from the current group
2434 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2438 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2439 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2443 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2444 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2448 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2449 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2453 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2454 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2455 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2458 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2460 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2461 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2462 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2463 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2464 the command to be executed.
2467 @node Foreign Groups
2468 @section Foreign Groups
2469 @cindex foreign groups
2471 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2472 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2473 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2474 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2481 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2482 @cindex making groups
2483 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2484 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2485 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2489 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2490 @cindex renaming groups
2491 Rename the current group to something else
2492 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2493 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2499 @findex gnus-group-customize
2500 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2505 @cindex renaming groups
2506 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2507 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2511 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2512 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2513 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2518 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2519 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2523 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2525 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2526 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2531 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2532 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2536 @cindex (ding) archive
2537 @cindex archive group
2538 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2539 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2540 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2541 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2542 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2543 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2544 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2548 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2550 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2551 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2552 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2553 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2557 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2559 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2560 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2561 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2565 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2566 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2568 Make a group based on some file or other
2569 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2570 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2571 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2572 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2573 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2574 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2575 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2576 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2577 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2581 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2582 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2583 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2584 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2588 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2592 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2593 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2594 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2595 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2596 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2597 @xref{Web Searches}.
2599 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2600 to a particular group by using a match string like
2601 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2604 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2605 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2606 This function will delete the current group
2607 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2608 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2609 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2610 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2611 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2615 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2616 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2617 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2621 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2622 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2623 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2626 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2629 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2630 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2631 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2632 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2633 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2634 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2638 @node Group Parameters
2639 @section Group Parameters
2640 @cindex group parameters
2642 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2643 Here's an example group parameter list:
2646 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2650 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2651 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2652 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2653 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2655 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2656 is an alist of regexps and values.
2658 The following group parameters can be used:
2663 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2666 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2669 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2670 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2671 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2672 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2673 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2675 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2676 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2677 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2678 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2679 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2680 list address instead.
2682 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2686 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2689 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2692 It is totally ignored
2693 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2694 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2696 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2697 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2698 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2699 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2700 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2702 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2703 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2704 sending the message.
2706 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2707 @cindex Mail List Groups
2708 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2709 entering summary buffer.
2711 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2716 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2717 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2718 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2719 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2720 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2721 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2723 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2724 directly uses this group parameter.
2728 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2729 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2730 of whether it has any unread articles.
2732 @item broken-reply-to
2733 @cindex broken-reply-to
2734 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2735 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2736 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2737 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2738 broken behavior. So there!
2742 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2743 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2747 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2748 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2749 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2754 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2755 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2756 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2757 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2758 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2759 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2760 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2761 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2762 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2766 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2767 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2768 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2770 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2773 @cindex total-expire
2774 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2775 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2776 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2777 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2780 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2784 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2785 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2786 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2787 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2788 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2789 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2790 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2793 @cindex score file group parameter
2794 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2795 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2796 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2799 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2800 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2801 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2802 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2805 @cindex admin-address
2806 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2807 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2808 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2809 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2813 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2814 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2818 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2821 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2822 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2825 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2829 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2831 Here are some examples:
2835 Display only unread articles.
2838 Display everything except expirable articles.
2840 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2841 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2845 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2846 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2847 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2848 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2849 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2853 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2854 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2855 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2859 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2860 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2861 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2865 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2866 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2867 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2869 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2871 @item ignored-charsets
2872 @cindex ignored-charset
2873 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2874 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2875 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2877 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2880 @cindex posting-style
2881 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2882 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2883 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2884 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2885 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2887 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2888 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2889 like this in the group parameters:
2894 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2895 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2900 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2901 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2905 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2906 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2907 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2908 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2909 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2913 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2914 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2915 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2916 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2918 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2919 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2920 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2921 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2924 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2925 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2929 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2932 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2933 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2934 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2935 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2936 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2937 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2938 @code{eval}ed there.
2940 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2941 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2942 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2943 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2944 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2945 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2946 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2947 parameters for the group.
2950 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2951 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2952 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2953 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2954 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2958 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2959 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2960 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2961 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2962 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2964 @vindex gnus-parameters
2965 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2966 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2970 (setq gnus-parameters
2972 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2973 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2974 (gnus-summary-line-format
2975 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2979 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2983 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2987 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2990 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2991 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2994 @node Listing Groups
2995 @section Listing Groups
2996 @cindex group listing
2998 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3007 List all groups that have unread articles
3008 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3009 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3010 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3011 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3018 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3019 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3020 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3021 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3022 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3023 unsubscribed groups).
3027 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3028 List all unread groups on a specific level
3029 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3030 with no unread articles.
3034 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3035 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3036 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3037 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3042 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3043 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3047 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3048 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3049 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3053 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3054 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3059 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3060 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3061 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3062 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3063 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3064 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3065 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3069 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3070 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3071 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3075 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3076 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3077 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3081 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3082 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3086 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3087 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3091 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3092 List groups limited within the current selection
3093 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3097 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3098 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3102 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3103 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3107 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3108 @cindex visible group parameter
3109 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3110 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3111 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3112 get the same effect.
3114 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3115 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3116 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3117 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3118 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3121 @node Sorting Groups
3122 @section Sorting Groups
3123 @cindex sorting groups
3125 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3126 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3127 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3128 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3129 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3130 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3137 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3141 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3145 Sort by group level.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3149 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3151 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3152 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3153 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3154 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3156 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3157 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3158 Sort by number of unread articles.
3160 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3162 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3164 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3166 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3171 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3172 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3176 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3177 some sorting criteria:
3181 @kindex G S a (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3183 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3187 @kindex G S u (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3189 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3193 @kindex G S l (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3195 Sort the group buffer by group level
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3199 @kindex G S v (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3201 Sort the group buffer by group score
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3205 @kindex G S r (Group)
3206 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3207 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3208 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3211 @kindex G S m (Group)
3212 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3213 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3214 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3217 @kindex G S n (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3219 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3224 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3225 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3227 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3228 commands will sort in reverse order.
3230 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3234 @kindex G P a (Group)
3235 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3236 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3237 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3240 @kindex G P u (Group)
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3242 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3243 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3246 @kindex G P l (Group)
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3248 Sort the groups by group level
3249 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3252 @kindex G P v (Group)
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3254 Sort the groups by group score
3255 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3258 @kindex G P r (Group)
3259 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3260 Sort the groups by group rank
3261 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3264 @kindex G P m (Group)
3265 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3266 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3267 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3270 @kindex G P n (Group)
3271 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3272 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3273 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3276 @kindex G P s (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3278 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3282 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3286 @node Group Maintenance
3287 @section Group Maintenance
3288 @cindex bogus groups
3293 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3294 Find bogus groups and delete them
3295 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3299 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3300 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3301 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3302 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3303 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3307 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3308 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3309 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3310 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3311 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3312 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3315 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3316 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3317 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3318 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3323 @node Browse Foreign Server
3324 @section Browse Foreign Server
3325 @cindex foreign servers
3326 @cindex browsing servers
3331 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3332 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3333 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3334 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3337 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3338 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3339 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3340 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3342 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3347 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3348 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3352 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3353 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3356 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3357 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3358 Enter the current group and display the first article
3359 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3362 @kindex RET (Browse)
3363 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3364 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3368 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3369 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3370 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3376 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3377 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3381 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3382 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3386 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3387 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3388 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3393 @section Exiting Gnus
3394 @cindex exiting Gnus
3396 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3401 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3402 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3403 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3404 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3408 @findex gnus-group-exit
3409 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3410 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3414 @findex gnus-group-quit
3415 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3416 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3419 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3420 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3421 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3422 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3423 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3424 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3429 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3430 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3431 trying to customize meta-variables.
3436 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3437 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3438 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3444 @section Group Topics
3447 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3448 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3449 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3450 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3451 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3452 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3456 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3457 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3468 2: alt.religion.emacs
3471 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3473 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3474 13: comp.sources.unix
3477 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3479 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3480 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3481 is a toggling command.)
3483 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3484 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3485 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3486 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3489 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3490 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3491 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3494 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3498 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3499 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3500 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3501 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3502 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3506 @node Topic Commands
3507 @subsection Topic Commands
3508 @cindex topic commands
3510 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3511 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3512 definitions slightly.
3514 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3515 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3516 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3517 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3518 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3519 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3521 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3528 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3529 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3530 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3534 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3536 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3537 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3538 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3539 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3542 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3543 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3544 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3545 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3549 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3550 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3551 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3552 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3558 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3559 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3560 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3564 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3565 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3566 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3569 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3570 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3571 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3572 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3573 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3575 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3576 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3580 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3581 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3588 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3590 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3591 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3592 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3593 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3594 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3595 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3599 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3605 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3606 Move the current group to some other topic
3607 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3608 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3612 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3613 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3617 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3618 Copy the current group to some other topic
3619 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3620 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3624 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3625 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3626 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3630 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3631 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3632 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3636 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3637 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3638 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3639 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3640 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3641 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3642 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3645 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3646 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3650 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3651 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3652 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3656 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3657 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3658 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3662 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3663 Toggle hiding empty topics
3664 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3668 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3669 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3670 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3673 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3674 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3675 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3676 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3679 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3680 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3681 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3682 expiry process (if any)
3683 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3687 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3688 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3691 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3692 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3693 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3697 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3698 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3699 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3702 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3703 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3704 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3707 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3709 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3713 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3714 @cindex group parameters
3715 @cindex topic parameters
3717 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3718 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3723 @node Topic Variables
3724 @subsection Topic Variables
3725 @cindex topic variables
3727 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3728 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3730 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3731 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3732 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3745 Number of groups in the topic.
3747 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3749 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3752 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3753 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3754 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3757 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3758 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3760 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3761 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3762 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3766 @subsection Topic Sorting
3767 @cindex topic sorting
3769 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3775 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3776 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3777 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3778 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3781 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3782 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3783 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3787 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3788 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3789 Sort the current topic by group level
3790 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3793 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3794 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3795 Sort the current topic by group score
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3799 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3800 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3801 Sort the current topic by group rank
3802 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3805 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3806 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3807 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3808 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3811 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3812 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3813 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3814 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3818 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3819 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3820 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3825 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3826 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3830 @node Topic Topology
3831 @subsection Topic Topology
3832 @cindex topic topology
3835 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3841 2: alt.religion.emacs
3844 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3846 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3847 13: comp.sources.unix
3850 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3851 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3852 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3857 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3858 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3862 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3863 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3864 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3865 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3866 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3867 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3869 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3870 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3871 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3874 @node Topic Parameters
3875 @subsection Topic Parameters
3876 @cindex topic parameters
3878 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3879 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3880 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3882 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3887 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3888 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3889 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3892 @item subscribe-level
3893 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3894 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3895 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3899 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3900 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3901 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3902 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3908 2: alt.religion.emacs
3912 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3914 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3915 13: comp.sources.unix
3919 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3920 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3921 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3922 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3923 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3924 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3926 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3927 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3928 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3929 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3930 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3932 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3933 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3934 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3935 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3936 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3937 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3938 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3939 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3942 @node Misc Group Stuff
3943 @section Misc Group Stuff
3946 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3947 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3948 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3949 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3950 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3957 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3958 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3959 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3963 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3964 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3965 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3966 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3967 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3968 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3969 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3973 @findex gnus-group-mail
3974 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3975 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3976 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3977 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3981 @findex gnus-group-news
3982 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3983 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3984 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3986 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3987 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3988 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3989 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3990 for this to work though.
3994 Variables for the group buffer:
3998 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3999 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4000 is called after the group buffer has been
4003 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4004 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4005 is called after the group buffer is
4006 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4009 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4010 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4011 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4012 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4014 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4015 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4016 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4017 whether they are empty or not.
4019 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4020 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4021 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4022 non-ASCII group names.
4026 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4027 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4030 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4031 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4032 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4033 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4034 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4035 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4040 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4041 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4046 @node Scanning New Messages
4047 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4048 @cindex new messages
4049 @cindex scanning new news
4055 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4056 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4057 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4058 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4059 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4060 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4065 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4066 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4067 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4068 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4069 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4070 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4071 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4073 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4074 @cindex activating groups
4076 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4077 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4082 @findex gnus-group-restart
4083 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4084 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4085 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4089 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4090 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4092 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4093 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4097 @node Group Information
4098 @subsection Group Information
4099 @cindex group information
4100 @cindex information on groups
4107 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4108 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4111 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4112 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4113 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4114 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4115 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4116 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4117 for fetching the file.
4119 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4120 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4124 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4125 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4127 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4128 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4131 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4132 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4133 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4137 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4138 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4139 @cindex control message
4140 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4141 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4142 group if given a prefix argument.
4144 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4145 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4146 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4147 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4149 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4150 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4151 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4155 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4157 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4158 @cindex describing groups
4159 @cindex group description
4160 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4161 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4162 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4166 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4167 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4168 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4175 @findex gnus-version
4176 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4180 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4181 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4184 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4187 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4188 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4192 @node Group Timestamp
4193 @subsection Group Timestamp
4195 @cindex group timestamps
4197 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4198 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4199 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4202 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4205 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4207 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4208 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4211 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4212 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4215 This will result in lines looking like:
4218 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4219 0: custom 19961002T012713
4222 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4223 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4227 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4228 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4231 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4232 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4236 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4237 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4238 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4239 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4241 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4247 @subsection File Commands
4248 @cindex file commands
4254 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4255 @vindex gnus-init-file
4256 @cindex reading init file
4257 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4258 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4262 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4263 @cindex saving .newsrc
4264 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4265 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4266 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4269 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4270 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4271 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4276 @node Sieve Commands
4277 @subsection Sieve Commands
4278 @cindex group sieve commands
4280 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4281 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4282 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4283 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4284 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4286 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4287 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4288 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4289 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4290 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4291 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4292 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4293 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4294 regenerate the Sieve script.
4296 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4297 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4298 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4299 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4300 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4301 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4302 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4303 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4304 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4305 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4308 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4309 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4314 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4320 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4321 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4322 @cindex generating sieve script
4323 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4324 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4328 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4329 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4330 @cindex updating sieve script
4331 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4332 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4333 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4338 @node Summary Buffer
4339 @chapter Summary Buffer
4340 @cindex summary buffer
4342 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4343 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4345 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4346 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4348 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4351 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4352 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4353 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4354 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4355 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4356 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4357 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4358 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4359 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4360 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4361 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4362 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4363 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4364 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4365 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4366 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4367 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4368 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4369 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4370 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4371 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4372 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4373 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4374 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4375 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4376 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4377 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4378 or reselecting the current group.
4379 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4380 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4381 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4382 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4386 @node Summary Buffer Format
4387 @section Summary Buffer Format
4388 @cindex summary buffer format
4392 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4393 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4394 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4400 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4401 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4402 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4403 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4406 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4407 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4408 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4409 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4410 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4411 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4412 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4413 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4414 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4415 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4416 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4419 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4420 'mail-extract-address-components)
4423 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4424 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4425 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4426 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4429 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4430 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4432 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4433 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4434 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4435 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4436 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4438 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4439 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4440 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4441 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4442 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4443 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4445 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4447 The following format specification characters and extended format
4448 specification(s) are understood:
4454 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4455 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4457 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4458 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4459 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4461 Full @code{From} header.
4463 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4465 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4468 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4469 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4470 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4471 may be more thorough.
4473 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4476 Number of lines in the article.
4478 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4479 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4481 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4482 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4484 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4486 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4487 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4500 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4501 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4502 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4505 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4506 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4507 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4508 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4510 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4511 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4512 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4513 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4515 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4516 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4517 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4519 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4520 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4521 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4523 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4524 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4525 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4527 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4528 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4529 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4534 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4535 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4537 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4538 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4540 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4541 for adopted articles.
4543 One space for each thread level.
4545 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4547 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4550 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4551 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4552 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4555 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4557 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4558 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4559 default level. If the difference between
4560 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4561 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4569 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4571 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4577 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4578 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4580 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4581 article has any children.
4587 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4588 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4590 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4591 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4592 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4593 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4594 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4595 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4598 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4599 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4600 There can only be one such area.
4602 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4603 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4604 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4605 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4606 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4607 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4609 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4610 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4612 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4615 @node To From Newsgroups
4616 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4620 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4621 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4622 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4623 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4624 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4628 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4629 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4630 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4634 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4635 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4638 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4639 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4642 @findex gnus-extra-header
4643 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4644 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4645 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4648 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4652 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4653 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4654 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4655 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4656 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4657 headers are used instead.
4661 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4662 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4663 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4664 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4665 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4666 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4668 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4669 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4670 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4671 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4673 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4677 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4679 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4680 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4681 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4682 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4686 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4689 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4690 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4693 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4694 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4695 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4701 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4702 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4705 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4706 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4708 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4709 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4710 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4711 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4713 Here are the elements you can play with:
4719 Unprefixed group name.
4721 Current article number.
4723 Current article score.
4727 Number of unread articles in this group.
4729 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4732 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4733 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4734 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4735 and no unselected ones.
4737 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4738 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4740 Subject of the current article.
4742 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4744 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4746 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4748 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4750 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4752 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4756 @node Summary Highlighting
4757 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4761 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4762 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4763 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4764 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4765 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4767 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4768 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4769 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4770 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4772 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4773 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4774 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4775 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4777 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4778 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4779 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4780 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4781 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4782 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4785 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4786 ((> score default) . bold))
4788 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4789 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4793 @node Summary Maneuvering
4794 @section Summary Maneuvering
4795 @cindex summary movement
4797 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4798 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4800 None of these commands select articles.
4805 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4806 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4807 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4808 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4809 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4813 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4814 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4815 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4816 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4817 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4820 @kindex G g (Summary)
4821 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4822 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4823 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4826 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4827 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4828 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4829 to the group buffer.
4831 Variables related to summary movement:
4835 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4836 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4837 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4838 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4839 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4840 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4841 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4842 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4843 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4844 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4845 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4846 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4847 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4848 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4850 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4851 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4852 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4853 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4854 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4855 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4856 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4858 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4860 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4861 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4862 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4863 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4864 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4866 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4867 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4868 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4869 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4870 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4871 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4872 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4873 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4876 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4877 the given number of lines from the top.
4882 @node Choosing Articles
4883 @section Choosing Articles
4884 @cindex selecting articles
4887 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4888 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4892 @node Choosing Commands
4893 @subsection Choosing Commands
4895 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4896 and they all select and display an article.
4898 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4899 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4903 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4904 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4905 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4906 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4911 @kindex G n (Summary)
4912 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4913 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4914 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4919 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4920 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4921 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4926 @kindex G N (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4928 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4933 @kindex G P (Summary)
4934 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4935 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4938 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4939 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4940 Go to the next article with the same subject
4941 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4944 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4945 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4946 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4947 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4951 @kindex G f (Summary)
4953 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4954 Go to the first unread article
4955 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4959 @kindex G b (Summary)
4961 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4962 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4963 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4964 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4969 @kindex G l (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4971 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4974 @kindex G o (Summary)
4975 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4977 @cindex article history
4978 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4979 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4980 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4981 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4982 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4983 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4988 @kindex G j (Summary)
4989 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4990 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4991 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4996 @node Choosing Variables
4997 @subsection Choosing Variables
4999 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5002 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5003 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5004 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5005 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5006 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5007 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5009 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5010 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5011 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5012 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5013 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5014 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5016 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5017 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5018 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5019 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5020 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5021 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5022 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5023 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5024 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5025 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5026 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5027 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5028 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5029 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5034 @node Paging the Article
5035 @section Scrolling the Article
5036 @cindex article scrolling
5041 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5043 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5044 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5045 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5048 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5049 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5050 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5053 @kindex RET (Summary)
5054 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5055 Scroll the current article one line forward
5056 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5059 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5060 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5061 Scroll the current article one line backward
5062 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5066 @kindex A g (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5069 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5070 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5071 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5072 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5073 the way it came from the server.
5075 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5076 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5077 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5080 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5085 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5090 @kindex A < (Summary)
5091 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5092 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5093 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5098 @kindex A > (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5100 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5104 @kindex A s (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5107 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5108 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5112 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5113 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5118 @node Reply Followup and Post
5119 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5122 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5123 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5124 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5125 * Canceling and Superseding::
5129 @node Summary Mail Commands
5130 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5132 @cindex composing mail
5134 Commands for composing a mail message:
5140 @kindex S r (Summary)
5142 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5143 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5144 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5145 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5146 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5151 @kindex S R (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5153 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5154 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5155 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5156 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5159 @kindex S w (Summary)
5160 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5161 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5162 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5163 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5164 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5167 @kindex S W (Summary)
5168 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5169 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5170 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5171 the process/prefix convention.
5174 @kindex S v (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5176 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5177 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5178 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5179 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5180 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5183 @kindex S V (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5185 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5186 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5187 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5190 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5192 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5193 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5196 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5197 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5198 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5199 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5200 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5204 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5205 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5207 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5208 Forward the current article to some other person
5209 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5210 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5211 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5212 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5213 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5214 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5215 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5216 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5217 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5223 @kindex S m (Summary)
5224 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5225 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5226 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5227 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5228 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5233 @kindex S i (Summary)
5234 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5235 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5236 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5237 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5239 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5240 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5241 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5242 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5243 for this to work though.
5246 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5248 @cindex bouncing mail
5249 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5250 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5251 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5252 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5253 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5254 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5255 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5256 very well fail, though.
5259 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5260 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5261 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5262 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5263 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5264 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5265 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5266 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5267 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5268 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5270 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5271 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5272 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5273 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5274 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5276 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5277 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5280 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5282 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5283 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5284 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5287 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5289 @cindex crossposting
5290 @cindex excessive crossposting
5291 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5292 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5294 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5295 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5296 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5297 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5298 command understands the process/prefix convention
5299 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5303 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5304 Manual}, for more information.
5307 @node Summary Post Commands
5308 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5310 @cindex composing news
5312 Commands for posting a news article:
5318 @kindex S p (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5320 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5321 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5322 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5323 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5328 @kindex S f (Summary)
5329 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5330 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5331 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5335 @kindex S F (Summary)
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5338 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5339 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5340 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5341 process/prefix convention.
5344 @kindex S n (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5346 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5347 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5350 @kindex S N (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5352 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5353 message through mail and include the original message
5354 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5355 the process/prefix convention.
5358 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5360 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5361 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5362 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5363 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5364 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5365 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5366 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5367 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5368 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5369 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5370 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5373 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5376 @cindex making digests
5377 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5378 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5379 process/prefix convention.
5382 @kindex S u (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5384 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5385 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5386 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5389 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5390 Manual}, for more information.
5393 @node Summary Message Commands
5394 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5398 @kindex S y (Summary)
5399 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5400 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5401 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5402 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5403 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5408 @node Canceling and Superseding
5409 @subsection Canceling Articles
5410 @cindex canceling articles
5411 @cindex superseding articles
5413 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5414 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5416 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5418 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5420 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5421 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5422 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5423 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5424 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5425 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5427 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5428 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5431 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5432 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5433 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5435 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5436 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5437 your original article.
5439 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5441 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5442 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5443 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5446 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5447 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5448 have posted almost the same article twice.
5450 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5451 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5452 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5453 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5454 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5455 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5456 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5457 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5458 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5459 canceled/superseded.
5461 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5463 @node Delayed Articles
5464 @section Delayed Articles
5465 @cindex delayed sending
5466 @cindex send delayed
5468 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5469 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5470 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5471 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5474 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5477 @findex gnus-delay-article
5478 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5479 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5480 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5481 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5485 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5486 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5487 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5488 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5491 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5492 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5493 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5496 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5497 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5498 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5499 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5500 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5501 that means a time tomorrow.
5504 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5505 couple of variables:
5508 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5509 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5510 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5511 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5513 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5514 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5515 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5516 formats described above.
5518 @item gnus-delay-group
5519 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5520 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5521 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5522 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5524 @item gnus-delay-header
5525 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5526 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5527 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5528 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5531 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5532 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5533 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5534 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5535 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5537 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5538 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5539 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5540 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5541 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5542 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5543 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5546 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5547 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5548 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5549 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5550 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5551 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5552 argument is ignored.
5554 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5555 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5556 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5560 @node Marking Articles
5561 @section Marking Articles
5562 @cindex article marking
5563 @cindex article ticking
5566 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5568 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5569 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5570 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5572 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5575 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5576 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5577 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5581 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5585 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5586 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5587 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5591 @node Unread Articles
5592 @subsection Unread Articles
5594 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5599 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5600 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5602 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5603 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5604 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5605 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5606 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5607 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5608 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5611 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5612 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5614 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5615 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5616 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5617 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5621 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5622 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5624 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5629 @subsection Read Articles
5630 @cindex expirable mark
5632 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5637 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5638 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5639 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5642 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5643 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5646 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5647 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5648 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5651 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5652 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5655 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5656 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5659 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5660 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5663 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5664 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5668 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5671 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5672 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5675 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5676 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5680 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5681 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5682 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5686 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5687 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5689 One more special mark, though:
5693 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5694 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5696 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5697 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5698 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5699 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5705 @subsection Other Marks
5706 @cindex process mark
5709 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5715 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5716 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5717 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5718 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5719 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5722 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5723 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5724 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5725 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5728 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5729 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5730 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5733 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5734 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5735 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5738 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5739 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5740 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5741 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5744 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5745 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5746 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5747 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5748 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5749 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5752 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5753 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5754 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5755 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5758 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5759 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5760 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5761 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5762 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5766 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5767 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5768 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5769 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5770 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5771 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5774 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5775 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5776 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5777 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5778 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5779 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5783 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5784 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5785 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5786 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5787 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5790 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5791 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5792 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5793 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5794 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5795 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5799 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5800 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5801 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5803 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5804 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5805 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5809 @subsection Setting Marks
5810 @cindex setting marks
5812 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5817 @kindex M c (Summary)
5818 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5819 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5820 @cindex mark as unread
5821 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5822 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5828 @kindex M t (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5830 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5831 @xref{Article Caching}.
5836 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5838 Mark the current article as dormant
5839 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5843 @kindex M d (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5846 Mark the current article as read
5847 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5851 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5852 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5853 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5858 @kindex M k (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5860 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5861 and then select the next unread article
5862 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5866 @kindex M K (Summary)
5867 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5869 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5870 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5873 @kindex M C (Summary)
5874 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5875 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5876 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5879 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5880 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5881 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5882 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5885 @kindex M H (Summary)
5886 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5887 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5888 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5891 @kindex M h (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5893 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5894 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5897 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5898 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5899 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5900 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5903 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5905 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5906 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5910 @kindex M e (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5913 Mark the current article as expirable
5914 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5917 @kindex M b (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5919 Set a bookmark in the current article
5920 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5923 @kindex M B (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5925 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5926 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5929 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5930 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5931 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5932 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5935 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5937 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5938 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5941 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5943 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5944 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5945 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5948 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5949 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5950 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5951 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5952 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5953 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5954 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5955 The default is @code{t}.
5958 @node Generic Marking Commands
5959 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5961 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5962 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5963 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5964 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5965 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5968 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5969 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5972 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5973 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5974 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5975 to list in this manual.
5977 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5978 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5979 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5980 article, you could say something like:
5983 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5984 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5985 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5991 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5992 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5996 @node Setting Process Marks
5997 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5998 @cindex setting process marks
6000 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6001 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6002 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6003 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6004 commands into the cache. For more information,
6005 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6012 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6013 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6014 Mark the current article with the process mark
6015 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6016 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6020 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6021 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6022 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6023 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6026 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6028 Remove the process mark from all articles
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6032 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6033 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6034 Invert the list of process marked articles
6035 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6038 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6039 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6040 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6041 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6044 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6045 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6046 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6047 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6050 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6051 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6052 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6056 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6057 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6060 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6062 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6063 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6066 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6068 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6069 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6072 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6073 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6074 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6075 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6078 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6080 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6083 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6085 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6086 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6089 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6091 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6094 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6096 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6097 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6100 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6102 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6103 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6106 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6107 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6108 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6109 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6112 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6114 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6115 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6119 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6120 set process marks based on article body contents.
6127 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6128 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6129 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6132 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6133 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6134 additional articles.
6140 @kindex / / (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6142 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6143 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6147 @kindex / a (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6149 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6154 @kindex / x (Summary)
6155 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6156 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6157 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6158 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6163 @kindex / u (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6166 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6168 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6169 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6172 @kindex / m (Summary)
6173 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6174 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6175 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6178 @kindex / t (Summary)
6179 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6180 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6181 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6182 articles younger than that number of days.
6185 @kindex / n (Summary)
6186 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6187 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6188 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6189 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6192 @kindex / w (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6194 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6195 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6199 @kindex / . (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6201 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6202 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6205 @kindex / v (Summary)
6206 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6207 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6208 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6211 @kindex / p (Summary)
6212 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6213 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6214 group parameter predicate
6215 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6216 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6220 @kindex M S (Summary)
6221 @kindex / E (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6223 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6224 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6227 @kindex / D (Summary)
6228 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6229 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6230 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6233 @kindex / * (Summary)
6234 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6235 Include all cached articles in the limit
6236 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6239 @kindex / d (Summary)
6240 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6241 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6242 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6245 @kindex / M (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6247 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6250 @kindex / T (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6252 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6255 @kindex / c (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6257 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6261 @kindex / C (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6263 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6264 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6265 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6268 @kindex / N (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6270 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6271 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6274 @kindex / o (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6276 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6277 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6285 @cindex article threading
6287 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6288 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6289 hierarchical fashion.
6291 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6292 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6293 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6294 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6295 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6296 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6297 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6299 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6303 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6306 A tree-like article structure.
6309 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6312 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6313 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6314 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6315 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6316 called loose threads.
6318 @item thread gathering
6319 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6321 @item sparse threads
6322 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6323 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6329 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6330 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6334 @node Customizing Threading
6335 @subsection Customizing Threading
6336 @cindex customizing threading
6339 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6340 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6341 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6342 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6347 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6350 @cindex loose threads
6353 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6354 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6355 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6356 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6357 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6358 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6360 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6361 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6362 There are four possible values:
6366 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6367 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6368 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6369 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6370 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6375 @cindex adopting articles
6380 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6381 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6382 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6383 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6386 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6387 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6388 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6389 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6390 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6391 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6392 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6393 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6394 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6395 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6398 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6399 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6400 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6404 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6405 display them after one another.
6408 Don't gather loose threads.
6411 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6412 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6413 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6414 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6415 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6416 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6417 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6418 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6419 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6420 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6421 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6423 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6424 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6425 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6428 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6429 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6430 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6431 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6432 simplification is used.
6434 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6435 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6436 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6437 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6439 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6441 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6447 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6448 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6449 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6450 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6455 (mapconcat 'identity
6456 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6458 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6461 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6464 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6465 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6466 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6467 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6468 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6469 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6471 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6474 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6475 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6476 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6478 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6479 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6482 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6483 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6484 Remove excessive whitespace.
6486 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6487 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6488 Remove all whitespace.
6491 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6494 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6495 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6496 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6497 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6498 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6499 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6500 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6501 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6503 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6504 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6505 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6506 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6507 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6508 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6509 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6510 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6511 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6515 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6516 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6517 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6518 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6520 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6521 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6522 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6525 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6529 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6530 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6536 @node Filling In Threads
6537 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6540 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6541 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6542 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6543 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6544 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6545 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6546 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6547 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6548 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6549 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6550 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6551 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6554 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6555 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6556 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6558 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6559 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6560 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6561 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6562 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6563 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6564 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6565 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6566 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6567 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6568 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6569 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6570 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6571 @code{nil} by default.
6573 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6574 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6575 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6576 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6577 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6578 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6579 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6581 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6582 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6583 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6588 @node More Threading
6589 @subsubsection More Threading
6592 @item gnus-show-threads
6593 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6594 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6595 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6596 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6597 slower and more awkward.
6599 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6600 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6601 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6604 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6605 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6606 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6611 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6612 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6613 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6616 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6617 unread, but you get my drift.)
6620 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6621 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6622 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6623 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6624 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6625 threads are expunged.
6627 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6628 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6629 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6632 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6633 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6634 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6635 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6636 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6637 result in a new thread.
6639 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6640 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6641 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6644 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6645 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6646 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6647 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6648 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6649 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6650 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6651 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6652 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6653 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6654 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6659 @node Low-Level Threading
6660 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6664 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6665 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6666 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6668 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6669 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6670 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6671 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6672 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6673 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6674 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6675 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6676 meaningful. Here's one example:
6679 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6681 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6682 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6684 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6686 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6693 @node Thread Commands
6694 @subsection Thread Commands
6695 @cindex thread commands
6701 @kindex T k (Summary)
6702 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6703 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6704 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6705 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6706 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6711 @kindex T l (Summary)
6712 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6714 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6715 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6718 @kindex T i (Summary)
6719 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6720 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6721 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6724 @kindex T # (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6726 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6727 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6730 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6731 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6732 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6733 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6736 @kindex T T (Summary)
6737 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6738 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6741 @kindex T s (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6743 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6744 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6747 @kindex T h (Summary)
6748 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6749 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6752 @kindex T S (Summary)
6753 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6754 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6757 @kindex T H (Summary)
6758 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6759 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6762 @kindex T t (Summary)
6763 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6764 Re-thread the current article's thread
6765 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6766 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6769 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6770 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6771 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6772 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6776 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6777 understand the numeric prefix.
6782 @kindex T n (Summary)
6784 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6786 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6788 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6791 @kindex T p (Summary)
6793 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6795 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6796 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6797 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6800 @kindex T d (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6802 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6805 @kindex T u (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6807 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6810 @kindex T o (Summary)
6811 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6812 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6815 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6816 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6817 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6818 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6819 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6820 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6821 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6822 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6823 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6824 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6825 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6826 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6830 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6831 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6833 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6834 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6835 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6836 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6837 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6838 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6839 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6840 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6841 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6842 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6843 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6844 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6845 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6847 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6848 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6849 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6850 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6851 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6852 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6853 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6854 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6856 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6857 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6858 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6860 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6861 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6862 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6863 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6864 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6865 ascending article order.
6867 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6868 by number, you could do something like:
6871 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6872 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6873 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6874 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6877 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6878 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6879 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6880 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6881 which the articles arrived.
6883 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6887 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6889 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6890 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6893 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6894 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6895 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6896 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6899 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6900 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6901 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6902 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6903 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6904 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6905 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6906 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6907 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6908 variable. It is very similar to the
6909 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6910 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6911 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6912 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6913 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6914 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6915 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6917 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6921 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6922 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6923 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6928 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6929 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6930 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6931 @cindex article pre-fetch
6934 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6935 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6936 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6937 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6938 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6940 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6941 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6943 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6944 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6945 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6946 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6947 connection is blocked.
6949 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6950 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6951 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6952 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6954 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6955 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6956 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6957 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6960 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6963 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6964 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6965 happen automatically.
6967 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6968 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6969 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6970 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6971 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6972 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6973 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6975 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6976 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6977 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6978 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6979 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6980 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6981 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6982 data structure as the only parameter.
6984 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6987 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6988 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6989 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6990 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6993 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6996 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6997 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6998 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7000 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7001 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7002 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7003 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7007 Remove articles when they are read.
7010 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7013 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7015 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7016 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7017 @c from the next group.
7020 @node Article Caching
7021 @section Article Caching
7022 @cindex article caching
7025 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7026 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7027 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7028 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7029 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7031 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7033 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7034 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7035 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7036 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7037 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7038 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7039 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7040 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7042 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7043 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7044 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7045 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7046 as dormant, and don't worry.
7048 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7050 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7051 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7052 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7053 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7054 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7055 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7056 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7057 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7058 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7059 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7061 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7062 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7063 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7064 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7065 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7066 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7067 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7068 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7069 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7070 not then be downloaded by this command.
7072 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7073 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7074 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7075 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7076 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7077 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7079 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7080 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7081 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7082 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7083 variables, the group is not cached.
7085 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7086 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7087 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7088 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7089 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7090 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7091 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7092 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7093 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7096 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7097 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7098 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7099 where, isn't that cool?
7101 @node Persistent Articles
7102 @section Persistent Articles
7103 @cindex persistent articles
7105 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7106 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7107 useful in my opinion.
7109 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7110 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7111 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7112 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7113 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7114 the expiry going on at the news server.
7116 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7117 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7118 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7124 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7125 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7128 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7129 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7130 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7131 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7135 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7137 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7138 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7139 interested in persistent articles:
7142 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7146 @node Article Backlog
7147 @section Article Backlog
7149 @cindex article backlog
7151 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7152 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7153 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7154 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7155 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7156 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7157 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7158 increase memory usage some.
7160 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7161 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7162 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7163 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7164 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7165 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7166 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7168 The default value is 20.
7171 @node Saving Articles
7172 @section Saving Articles
7173 @cindex saving articles
7175 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7176 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7177 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7178 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7179 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7181 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7182 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7183 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7185 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7186 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7187 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7189 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7190 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7191 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7192 deleted before saving.
7198 @kindex O o (Summary)
7200 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7201 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7202 Save the current article using the default article saver
7203 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7206 @kindex O m (Summary)
7207 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7208 Save the current article in mail format
7209 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7212 @kindex O r (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7214 Save the current article in rmail format
7215 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7218 @kindex O f (Summary)
7219 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7220 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7221 Save the current article in plain file format
7222 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7225 @kindex O F (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7227 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7228 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7231 @kindex O b (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7233 Save the current article body in plain file format
7234 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7237 @kindex O h (Summary)
7238 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7239 Save the current article in mh folder format
7240 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7243 @kindex O v (Summary)
7244 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7245 Save the current article in a VM folder
7246 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7250 @kindex O p (Summary)
7252 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7253 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7254 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7255 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7256 complete headers in the piped output.
7259 @kindex O P (Summary)
7260 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7261 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7262 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7263 external program Muttprint (see
7264 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7265 options to use is controlled by the variable
7266 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7270 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7271 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7272 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7273 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7274 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7275 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7276 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7277 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7278 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7279 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7280 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7281 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7285 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7286 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7287 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7288 functions below, or you can create your own.
7292 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7293 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7294 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7295 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7296 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7297 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7298 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7300 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7301 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7302 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7303 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7304 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7305 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7307 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7308 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7309 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7310 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7311 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7312 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7313 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7315 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7316 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7317 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7318 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7319 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7320 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7322 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7323 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7324 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7325 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7326 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7328 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7329 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7330 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7331 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7332 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7335 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7336 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7337 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7338 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7339 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7341 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7342 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7343 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7344 reader to use this setting.
7347 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7348 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7349 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7350 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7353 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7354 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7355 available functions that generate names:
7359 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7360 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7361 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7363 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7364 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7365 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7367 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7368 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7369 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7371 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7372 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7373 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7375 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7376 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7377 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7380 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7381 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7382 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7383 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7384 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7388 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7389 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7390 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7391 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7394 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7395 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7396 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7397 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7398 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7399 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7400 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7401 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7402 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7404 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7405 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7406 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7407 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7409 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7410 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7411 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7414 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7415 lots of mail groups called things like
7416 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7417 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7418 following will do just that:
7421 (defun my-save-name (group)
7422 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7423 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7425 (setq gnus-split-methods
7426 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7431 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7432 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7433 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7434 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7435 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7436 all the files in the top level directory
7437 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7438 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7439 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7440 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7442 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7443 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7444 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7445 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7446 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7449 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7453 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7454 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7455 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7458 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7459 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7460 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7461 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7464 @node Decoding Articles
7465 @section Decoding Articles
7466 @cindex decoding articles
7468 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7469 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7472 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7473 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7474 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7475 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7476 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7477 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7481 @cindex article series
7482 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7483 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7484 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7485 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7486 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7488 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7489 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7490 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7492 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7493 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7494 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7496 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7497 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7498 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7501 @node Uuencoded Articles
7502 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7504 @cindex uuencoded articles
7509 @kindex X u (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7511 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7512 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7515 @kindex X U (Summary)
7516 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7517 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7518 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7521 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7522 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7523 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7526 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7528 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7529 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7533 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7534 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7535 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7536 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7537 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7539 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7540 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7541 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7542 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7545 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7546 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7547 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7548 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7549 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7550 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7554 @node Shell Archives
7555 @subsection Shell Archives
7557 @cindex shell archives
7558 @cindex shared articles
7560 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7561 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7562 some commands to deal with these:
7567 @kindex X s (Summary)
7568 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7569 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7572 @kindex X S (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7574 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7577 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7578 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7579 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7582 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7583 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7584 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7585 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7589 @node PostScript Files
7590 @subsection PostScript Files
7596 @kindex X p (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7598 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7601 @kindex X P (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7603 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7604 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7607 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7608 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7609 View the current PostScript series
7610 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7613 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7614 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7615 View and save the current PostScript series
7616 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7621 @subsection Other Files
7625 @kindex X o (Summary)
7626 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7627 Save the current series
7628 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7631 @kindex X b (Summary)
7632 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7633 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7634 doesn't really work yet.
7638 @node Decoding Variables
7639 @subsection Decoding Variables
7641 Adjective, not verb.
7644 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7645 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7646 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7650 @node Rule Variables
7651 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7652 @cindex rule variables
7654 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7655 variables are of the form
7658 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7665 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7666 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7668 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7669 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7672 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7673 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7676 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7677 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7678 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7679 user and default view rules.
7681 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7683 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7688 @node Other Decode Variables
7689 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7692 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7694 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7695 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7696 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7697 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7698 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7702 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7703 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7706 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7707 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7708 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7711 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7712 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7713 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7714 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7715 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7718 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7719 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7720 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7722 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7723 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7724 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7725 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7726 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7729 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7730 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7731 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7733 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7734 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7735 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7736 looking for files to display.
7738 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7739 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7740 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7743 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7744 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7745 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7748 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7750 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7753 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7754 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7755 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7758 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7759 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7760 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7761 decoded articles as unread.
7763 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7764 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7765 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7766 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7768 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7769 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7770 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7772 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7773 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7775 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7776 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7777 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7778 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7780 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7781 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7782 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7783 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7784 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7785 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7786 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7787 simply dropped them.
7792 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7793 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7797 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7798 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7799 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7800 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7801 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7802 for you when you post the article.
7804 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7805 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7806 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7807 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7809 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7810 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7811 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7812 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7813 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7814 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7815 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7817 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7818 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7819 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7820 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7821 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7822 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7823 Default is @code{t}.
7829 @subsection Viewing Files
7830 @cindex viewing files
7831 @cindex pseudo-articles
7833 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7834 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7835 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7836 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7837 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7838 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7839 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7841 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7842 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7843 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7844 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7846 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7847 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7848 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7850 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7851 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7852 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7853 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7854 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7856 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7857 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7858 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7859 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7860 a list of parameters to that command.
7862 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7863 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7864 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7866 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7867 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7868 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7871 @node Article Treatment
7872 @section Article Treatment
7874 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7875 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7876 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7877 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7878 these articles easier.
7881 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7882 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7883 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7884 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7885 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7886 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7887 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7888 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7889 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7890 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7894 @node Article Highlighting
7895 @subsection Article Highlighting
7896 @cindex highlighting
7898 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7899 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7904 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7905 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7906 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7907 Do much highlighting of the current article
7908 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7909 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7912 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7913 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7914 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7915 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7916 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7917 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7918 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7919 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7920 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7921 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7922 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7923 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7926 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7927 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7928 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7930 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7933 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7935 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7936 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7937 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7939 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7940 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7941 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7943 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7944 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7945 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7946 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7947 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7948 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7950 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7951 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7952 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7954 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7955 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7956 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7958 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7959 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7960 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7961 that it's a citation.
7963 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7964 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7965 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7967 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7968 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7969 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7971 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7972 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7973 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7974 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7980 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7981 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7982 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7983 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7984 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7985 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7986 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7987 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7992 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7995 @node Article Fontisizing
7996 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7998 @cindex article emphasis
8000 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8001 @kindex W e (Summary)
8002 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8003 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8004 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8005 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8007 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8008 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8009 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8010 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8011 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8012 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8013 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8014 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8018 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8019 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8020 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8029 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8031 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8032 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8033 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8034 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8035 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8036 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8037 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8038 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8039 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8040 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8041 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8043 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8044 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8045 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8049 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8052 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8054 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8055 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8056 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8057 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8059 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8062 @node Article Hiding
8063 @subsection Article Hiding
8064 @cindex article hiding
8066 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8067 too much cruft in most articles.
8072 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8073 @findex gnus-article-hide
8074 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8075 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8076 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8079 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8080 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8081 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8085 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8086 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8087 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8088 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8091 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8092 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8093 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8097 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8098 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8099 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8100 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8101 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8102 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8103 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8104 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8108 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8109 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8110 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8111 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8116 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8118 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8119 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8122 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8123 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8124 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8125 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8128 @cindex stripping advertisements
8129 @cindex advertisements
8130 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8131 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8132 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8133 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8134 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8135 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8136 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8137 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8138 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8139 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8142 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8143 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8144 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8148 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8149 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8150 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8151 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8152 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8153 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8154 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8155 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8156 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8157 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8158 following element to remove them:
8161 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8167 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8168 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8169 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8170 customizing the hiding:
8174 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8175 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8176 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8177 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8178 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8179 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8180 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8185 Starting point of the hidden text.
8187 Ending point of the hidden text.
8189 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8191 Number of lines of hidden text.
8194 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8195 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8196 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8197 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8198 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8203 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8204 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8206 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8207 following two variables:
8210 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8211 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8212 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8213 50), hide the cited text.
8215 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8216 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8217 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8222 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8223 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8224 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8225 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8226 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8227 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8231 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8232 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8233 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8235 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8236 citation customization.
8238 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8242 @node Article Washing
8243 @subsection Article Washing
8245 @cindex article washing
8247 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8248 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8250 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8251 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8254 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8255 articles by default.
8260 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8261 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8265 @kindex W l (Summary)
8266 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8267 Remove page breaks from the current article
8268 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8272 @kindex W r (Summary)
8273 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8274 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8275 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8276 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8277 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8278 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8280 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8281 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8282 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8283 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8286 @kindex W m (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8288 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8289 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8293 @kindex W t (Summary)
8295 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8296 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8297 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8300 @kindex W v (Summary)
8301 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8302 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8303 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8306 @kindex W o (Summary)
8307 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8308 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8311 @kindex W d (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8313 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8315 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8317 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8318 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8319 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8320 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8323 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8324 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8325 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8326 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8329 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8330 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8331 @cindex Outlook Express
8332 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8333 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8334 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8337 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8339 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8340 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8341 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8342 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8343 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8344 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8345 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8346 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8349 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8351 Repair a broken attribution line.
8352 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8355 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8357 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8358 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8361 @kindex W w (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8363 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8365 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8369 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8370 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8371 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8374 @kindex W C (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8376 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8377 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8380 @kindex W c (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8382 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8383 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8384 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8385 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8388 @kindex W q (Summary)
8389 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8390 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8391 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8392 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8393 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8394 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8395 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8396 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8397 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8400 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8402 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8403 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8404 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8405 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8406 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8408 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8411 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8412 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8413 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8414 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8415 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8418 @kindex W u (Summary)
8419 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8420 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8421 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8422 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8423 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8426 @kindex W h (Summary)
8427 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8428 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8429 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8430 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8432 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8434 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8435 The default is to use the function specified by
8436 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8437 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8438 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8439 you can use include:
8446 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8450 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8453 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8456 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8461 @kindex W b (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8463 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8464 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8467 @kindex W B (Summary)
8468 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8469 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8470 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8473 @kindex W p (Summary)
8474 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8475 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8476 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8477 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8478 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8479 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8480 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8483 @kindex W s (Summary)
8484 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8485 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8486 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8489 @kindex W a (Summary)
8490 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8491 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8492 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8495 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8496 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8497 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8498 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8501 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8502 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8503 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8504 lines with a single empty line.
8505 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8508 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8509 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8510 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8511 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8514 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8515 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8516 Do all the three commands above
8517 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8520 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8522 Remove all blank lines
8523 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8526 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8527 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8528 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8529 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8532 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8533 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8534 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8535 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8539 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8542 @node Article Header
8543 @subsection Article Header
8545 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8550 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8551 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8552 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8555 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8557 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8558 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8561 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8563 Fold all the message headers
8564 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8568 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8569 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8570 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8575 @node Article Buttons
8576 @subsection Article Buttons
8579 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8580 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8581 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8582 button on these references.
8584 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8585 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8586 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8587 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8588 one that handles article heads:
8592 @item gnus-button-alist
8593 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8594 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8597 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8603 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8604 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8605 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8606 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8607 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8610 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8611 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8612 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8615 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8616 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8617 avoid false matches.
8620 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8623 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8624 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8628 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8631 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8634 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8635 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8636 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8637 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8638 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8641 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8644 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8646 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8647 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8648 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8649 default values of the variables above.
8651 @item gnus-article-button-face
8652 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8653 Face used on buttons.
8655 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8656 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8657 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8661 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8665 @subsection Article Date
8667 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8668 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8669 when the article was sent.
8674 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8675 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8676 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8677 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8680 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8683 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8684 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8687 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8689 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8692 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8694 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8695 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8698 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8699 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8700 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8701 @findex format-time-string
8702 Display the date using a user-defined format
8703 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8704 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8705 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8706 for a list of possible format specs.
8709 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8710 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8711 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8712 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8713 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8714 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8717 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8720 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8721 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8722 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8725 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8726 into wonderful absurdities.
8728 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8731 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8734 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8735 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8739 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8740 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8741 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8742 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8743 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8744 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8745 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8749 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8750 preferred format automatically.
8753 @node Article Display
8754 @subsection Article Display
8759 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8760 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8762 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8763 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8765 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8766 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8768 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8769 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8771 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8776 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8777 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8778 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8779 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8782 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8783 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8784 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8785 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8788 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8789 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8790 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8793 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8794 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8795 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8798 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8799 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8800 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8801 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8804 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8805 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8806 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8807 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8810 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8811 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8812 Remove all images from the article buffer
8813 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8819 @node Article Signature
8820 @subsection Article Signature
8822 @cindex article signature
8824 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8825 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8826 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8827 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8828 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8829 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8830 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8831 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8832 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8835 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8836 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8837 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8838 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8839 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8840 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8841 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8842 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8845 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8848 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8849 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8850 signature when displaying articles.
8854 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8857 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8860 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8861 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8863 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8864 in question is not a signature.
8867 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8868 listed above. Here's an example:
8871 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8872 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8875 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8876 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8877 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8878 signature after all.
8881 @node Article Miscellania
8882 @subsection Article Miscellania
8886 @kindex A t (Summary)
8887 @findex gnus-article-babel
8888 Translate the article from one language to another
8889 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8895 @section MIME Commands
8896 @cindex MIME decoding
8898 @cindex viewing attachments
8900 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8901 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8907 @kindex K v (Summary)
8908 View the @sc{mime} part.
8911 @kindex K o (Summary)
8912 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8915 @kindex K c (Summary)
8916 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8919 @kindex K e (Summary)
8920 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8923 @kindex K i (Summary)
8924 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8927 @kindex K | (Summary)
8928 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8931 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8936 @kindex K b (Summary)
8937 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8938 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8942 @kindex K m (Summary)
8943 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8944 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8945 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8946 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8947 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8950 @kindex X m (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8952 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8953 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8954 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8957 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8958 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8959 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8960 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8963 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8964 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8965 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8966 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8969 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8971 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8972 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8974 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8975 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8976 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8977 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8978 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8979 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8982 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8983 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8984 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8985 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8992 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8993 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8994 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8995 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8998 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9001 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9005 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9006 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9007 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9008 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9009 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9010 default is @code{nil}.
9012 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9013 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9014 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9015 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9016 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9017 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9018 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9020 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9021 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9022 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9023 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9024 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9025 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9026 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9027 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9029 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9030 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9031 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9032 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9033 displayed. This variable overrides
9034 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9035 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9038 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9039 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9040 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9042 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9043 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9044 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9045 value is @code{nil}.
9047 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9048 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9049 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9050 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9051 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9052 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9053 save all jpegs into some directory).
9055 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9058 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9059 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9061 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9062 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9063 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9064 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9065 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9068 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9069 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9070 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9072 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9073 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9074 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9075 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9077 Ready-made functions include@*
9078 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9079 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9080 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9081 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9082 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9083 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9084 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9085 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9086 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9087 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9088 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9089 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9091 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9092 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9094 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9095 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9096 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9099 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9100 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9101 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9102 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9106 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9115 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9116 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9117 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9118 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9119 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9120 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9121 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9123 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9124 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9125 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9126 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9128 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9129 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9130 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9131 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9132 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9133 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9134 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9135 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9136 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9138 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9139 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9140 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9141 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9142 quoted-printable header encoding.
9144 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9145 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9146 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9150 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9153 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9154 means encode all charsets),
9156 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9157 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9158 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9165 @cindex coding system aliases
9166 @cindex preferred charset
9168 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9170 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9171 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9174 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9175 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9178 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9179 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9181 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9184 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9187 This will almost do the right thing.
9189 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9193 (codepage-setup 1251)
9194 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9198 @node Article Commands
9199 @section Article Commands
9206 @kindex A P (Summary)
9207 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9208 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9209 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9210 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9211 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9212 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9217 @node Summary Sorting
9218 @section Summary Sorting
9219 @cindex summary sorting
9221 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9222 can't really see why you'd want that.
9227 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9228 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9229 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9232 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9233 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9234 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9237 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9238 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9239 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9242 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9244 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9247 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9248 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9249 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9252 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9253 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9254 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9257 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9258 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9259 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9262 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9263 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9264 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9267 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9268 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9269 Sort using the default sorting method
9270 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9273 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9274 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9275 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9276 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9277 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9281 @node Finding the Parent
9282 @section Finding the Parent
9283 @cindex parent articles
9284 @cindex referring articles
9289 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9290 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9291 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9292 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9293 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9294 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9295 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9296 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9297 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9299 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9300 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9301 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9302 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9303 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9307 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9308 @kindex A R (Summary)
9309 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9310 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9313 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9314 @kindex A T (Summary)
9315 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9316 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9317 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9318 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9319 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9320 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9321 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9323 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9324 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9325 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9326 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9327 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9328 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9331 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9332 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9334 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9335 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9336 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9337 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9338 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9339 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9340 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9343 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9344 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9345 by giving this command a prefix.
9347 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9348 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9349 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9350 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9351 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9352 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9355 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9356 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9357 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9360 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9361 then ask Google if that fails:
9364 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9366 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9369 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9370 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9371 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9372 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9373 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9374 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9375 support this at all.
9378 @node Alternative Approaches
9379 @section Alternative Approaches
9381 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9382 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9385 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9386 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9391 @subsection Pick and Read
9392 @cindex pick and read
9394 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9395 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9396 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9397 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9399 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9400 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9401 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9402 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9403 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9404 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9406 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9411 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9412 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9413 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9414 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9415 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9416 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9417 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9418 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9421 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9422 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9423 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9424 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9428 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9429 Unpick the thread or article
9430 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9431 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9432 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9433 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9434 the thread or article at that line.
9438 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9439 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9440 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9441 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9442 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9443 will still be visible when you are reading.
9447 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9448 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9449 which is mapped to the same function
9450 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9452 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9455 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9458 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9459 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9461 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9462 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9463 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9465 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9466 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9467 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9468 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9469 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9470 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9471 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9475 @subsection Binary Groups
9476 @cindex binary groups
9478 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9479 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9480 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9481 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9482 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9483 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9484 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9487 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9488 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9489 command, when you have turned on this mode
9490 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9492 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9493 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9497 @section Tree Display
9500 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9501 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9502 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9503 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9506 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9509 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9510 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9511 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9513 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9514 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9515 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9516 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9517 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9519 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9520 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9521 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9522 default is @code{modeline}.
9524 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9525 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9526 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9527 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9528 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9529 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9530 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9536 The name of the poster.
9538 The @code{From} header.
9540 The number of the article.
9542 The opening bracket.
9544 The closing bracket.
9549 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9551 Variables related to the display are:
9554 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9555 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9556 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9557 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9558 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9559 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9561 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9562 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9563 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9564 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9568 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9569 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9570 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9571 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9572 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9573 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9574 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9575 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9576 other windows displayed next to it.
9578 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9582 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9583 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9586 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9587 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9588 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9589 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9590 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9591 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9592 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9596 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9599 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9609 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9613 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9614 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9616 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9618 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9623 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9624 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9625 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9628 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9629 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9630 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9631 (gnus-add-configuration
9635 (summary 0.75 point)
9640 @xref{Window Layout}.
9643 @node Mail Group Commands
9644 @section Mail Group Commands
9645 @cindex mail group commands
9647 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9648 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9650 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9651 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9656 @kindex B e (Summary)
9657 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9658 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9659 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9660 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9661 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9664 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9665 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9666 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9667 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9668 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9669 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9672 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9673 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9674 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9675 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9676 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9677 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9680 @kindex B m (Summary)
9682 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9683 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9684 Move the article from one mail group to another
9685 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9686 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9689 @kindex B c (Summary)
9691 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9692 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9693 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9694 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9695 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9698 @kindex B B (Summary)
9699 @cindex crosspost mail
9700 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9701 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9702 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9703 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9704 be properly updated.
9707 @kindex B i (Summary)
9708 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9709 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9710 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9711 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9714 @kindex B I (Summary)
9715 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9716 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9717 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9718 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9721 @kindex B r (Summary)
9722 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9723 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9724 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9725 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9726 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9727 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9728 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9729 (which is the default).
9733 @kindex B w (Summary)
9735 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9736 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9737 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9738 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9739 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9740 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9741 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9744 @kindex B q (Summary)
9745 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9746 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9747 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9748 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9751 @kindex B t (Summary)
9752 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9753 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9754 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9757 @kindex B p (Summary)
9758 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9759 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9760 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9761 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9762 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9763 article from your news server (or rather, from
9764 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9765 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9766 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9767 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9768 just not have arrived yet.
9771 @kindex K E (Summary)
9772 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9773 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9774 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9775 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9776 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9780 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9781 @cindex moving articles
9782 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9783 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9784 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9785 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9786 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9787 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9788 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9791 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9792 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9793 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9794 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9798 @node Various Summary Stuff
9799 @section Various Summary Stuff
9802 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9803 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9804 * Summary Generation Commands::
9805 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9809 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9810 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9811 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9812 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9813 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9814 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9816 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9817 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9818 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9820 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9821 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9822 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9823 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9824 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9825 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9828 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9829 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9830 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9831 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9832 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9834 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9835 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9836 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9839 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9840 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9841 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9842 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9843 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9844 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9845 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9846 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9847 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9848 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9850 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9851 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9852 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9853 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9854 list of articles to be selected.
9856 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9857 the list in one particular group:
9860 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9861 (if (string= group "some.group")
9862 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9866 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9867 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9868 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9869 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9870 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9871 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9872 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9873 buffers. For example:
9876 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9877 '(message-use-followup-to
9878 (gnus-visible-headers .
9879 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9885 @node Summary Group Information
9886 @subsection Summary Group Information
9891 @kindex H f (Summary)
9892 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9893 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9894 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9895 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9896 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9897 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9898 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9899 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9900 be used for fetching the file.
9903 @kindex H d (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9905 Give a brief description of the current group
9906 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9907 rereading the description from the server.
9910 @kindex H h (Summary)
9911 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9912 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9913 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9916 @kindex H i (Summary)
9917 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9918 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9922 @node Searching for Articles
9923 @subsection Searching for Articles
9928 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9930 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9931 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9934 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9935 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9936 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9937 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9941 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9942 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9943 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9944 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9945 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9946 search backward instead.
9948 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9949 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9952 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9953 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9954 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9955 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9958 @node Summary Generation Commands
9959 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9964 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9965 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9966 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9969 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9970 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9971 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9972 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9975 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9976 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9977 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9978 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9983 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9984 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9990 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9991 @kindex A D (Summary)
9992 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9993 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9994 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9995 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9996 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9997 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9998 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9999 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10003 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10004 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10005 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10006 several documents into one biiig group
10007 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10008 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10009 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10010 command understands the process/prefix convention
10011 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10014 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10015 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10016 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10017 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10018 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10019 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10022 @kindex = (Summary)
10023 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10024 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10025 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10028 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10029 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10030 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10031 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10034 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10035 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10036 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10037 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10042 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10043 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10044 @cindex summary exit
10045 @cindex exiting groups
10047 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10048 group and return you to the group buffer.
10054 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10055 @kindex q (Summary)
10056 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10057 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10058 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10059 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10060 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10061 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10062 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10063 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10064 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10065 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10066 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10067 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10071 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10072 @kindex Q (Summary)
10073 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10074 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10075 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10079 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10080 @kindex c (Summary)
10081 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10082 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10083 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10084 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10087 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10088 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10089 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10090 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10093 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10094 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10095 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10096 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10099 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10100 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10101 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10102 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10103 all articles, both read and unread.
10107 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10108 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10109 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10110 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10111 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10112 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10113 articles, both read and unread.
10116 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10117 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10118 Exit the group and go to the next group
10119 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10122 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10123 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10124 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10125 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10128 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10129 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10130 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10131 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10132 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10133 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10136 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10137 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10138 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10139 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10141 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10142 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10143 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10144 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10145 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10146 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10147 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10148 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10149 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10150 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10151 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10152 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10154 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10156 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10157 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10158 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10159 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10160 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10161 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10162 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10163 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10164 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10167 @node Crosspost Handling
10168 @section Crosspost Handling
10172 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10173 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10174 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10175 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10176 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10177 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10180 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10181 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10182 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10183 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10184 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10186 @cindex cross-posting
10189 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10190 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10191 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10192 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10193 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10194 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10195 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10196 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10197 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10198 the cross reference mechanism.
10200 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10201 @cindex overview.fmt
10202 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10203 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10204 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10205 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10206 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10207 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10210 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10211 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10212 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10217 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10220 @node Duplicate Suppression
10221 @section Duplicate Suppression
10223 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10224 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10225 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10226 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10231 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10232 is evil and not very common.
10235 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10236 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10239 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10240 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10243 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10246 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10247 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10249 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10250 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10251 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10252 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10253 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10254 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10255 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10258 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10259 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10260 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10261 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10262 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10263 saw the article in.
10266 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10267 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10268 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10270 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10271 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10272 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10273 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10274 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10275 session are suppressed.
10277 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10278 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10279 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10280 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10282 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10283 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10284 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10285 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10288 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10289 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10290 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10291 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10292 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10293 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10294 to you to figure out, I think.
10299 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10300 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10301 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10305 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10306 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10307 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10308 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10311 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10312 or newer is recommended.
10316 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10317 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10320 @item mm-verify-option
10321 @vindex mm-verify-option
10322 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10323 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10324 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10326 @item mm-decrypt-option
10327 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10328 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10329 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10330 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10333 @vindex mml1991-use
10334 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10335 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10336 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10339 @vindex mml2015-use
10340 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10341 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10342 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10347 @section Mailing List
10349 @kindex A M (summary)
10350 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10351 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10352 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10353 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10354 summary buffer, or say:
10357 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10360 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10365 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10366 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10367 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10370 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10371 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10372 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10375 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10376 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10377 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10381 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10382 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10383 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10386 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10387 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10388 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10391 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10392 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10393 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10397 @node Article Buffer
10398 @chapter Article Buffer
10399 @cindex article buffer
10401 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10402 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10403 tell Gnus otherwise.
10406 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10407 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10408 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10409 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10410 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10414 @node Hiding Headers
10415 @section Hiding Headers
10416 @cindex hiding headers
10417 @cindex deleting headers
10419 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10420 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10422 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10423 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10424 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10425 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10426 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10427 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10428 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10429 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10430 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10432 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10436 @item gnus-visible-headers
10437 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10438 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10439 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10440 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10442 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10443 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10446 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10449 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10452 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10453 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10454 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10455 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10456 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10457 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10459 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10460 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10463 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10466 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10469 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10470 variable will have no effect.
10474 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10475 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10476 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10477 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10478 the headers are to be displayed.
10480 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10481 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10484 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10487 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10488 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10490 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10491 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10492 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10493 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10494 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10495 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10496 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10499 These conditions are:
10502 Remove all empty headers.
10504 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10505 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10507 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10508 @code{From} header.
10510 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10513 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10514 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10516 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10519 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10521 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10524 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10527 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10528 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10531 This is also the default value for this variable.
10535 @section Using MIME
10538 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10539 while people stand around yawning.
10541 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10542 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10544 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10545 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10546 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10548 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10549 @findex gnus-display-mime
10550 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10551 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10552 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10553 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10555 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10559 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10560 @item RET (Article)
10561 @kindex RET (Article)
10562 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10563 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10564 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10565 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10566 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10567 object is displayed inline.
10569 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10570 @item M-RET (Article)
10571 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10573 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10574 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10576 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10578 @kindex t (Article)
10579 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10580 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10582 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10584 @kindex C (Article)
10585 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10586 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10588 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10590 @kindex o (Article)
10591 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10592 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10594 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10595 @item C-o (Article)
10596 @kindex C-o (Article)
10597 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10598 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10599 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10600 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10601 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10602 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10604 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10606 @kindex c (Article)
10607 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10608 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10609 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10610 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10611 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10613 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10615 @kindex p (Article)
10616 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10617 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10618 @file{.mailcap} file.
10620 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10622 @kindex i (Article)
10623 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10624 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10625 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10626 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10627 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10630 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10632 @kindex E (Article)
10633 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10634 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10635 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10637 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10639 @kindex e (Article)
10640 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10641 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10643 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10645 @kindex | (Article)
10646 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10648 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10650 @kindex . (Article)
10651 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10652 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10656 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10657 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10660 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10661 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10662 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10663 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10664 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10665 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10666 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10667 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10668 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10670 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10672 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10675 @node Customizing Articles
10676 @section Customizing Articles
10677 @cindex article customization
10679 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10680 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10681 called automatically when you select the articles.
10683 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10684 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10685 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10686 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10688 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10689 for sensible values.
10693 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10696 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10699 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10702 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10705 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10709 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10710 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10711 regexps in the list.
10714 A list where the first element is not a string:
10716 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10717 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10718 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10722 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10727 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10728 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10729 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10730 considered to contain just a single part.
10732 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10733 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10734 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10735 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10736 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10737 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10738 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10740 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10741 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10742 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10743 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10746 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10747 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10749 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10751 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10752 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10753 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10754 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10755 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10756 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10757 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10758 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10759 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10760 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10762 @xref{Article Washing}.
10764 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10765 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10766 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10767 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10768 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10769 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10770 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10772 @xref{Article Date}.
10774 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10775 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10776 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10780 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10782 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10784 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10785 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10786 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10790 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10794 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10795 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10796 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10797 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10798 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10799 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10800 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10801 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10803 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10805 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10806 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10807 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10809 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10811 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10812 @item gnus-treat-translate
10813 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10815 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10816 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10817 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10818 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10820 @xref{Article Header}.
10825 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10826 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10827 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10828 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10829 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10833 @node Article Keymap
10834 @section Article Keymap
10836 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10837 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10838 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10839 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10842 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10847 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10848 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10849 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10852 @kindex DEL (Article)
10853 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10854 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10857 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10858 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10859 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10860 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10861 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10864 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10865 @findex gnus-article-mail
10866 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10867 given a prefix, include the mail.
10870 @kindex s (Article)
10871 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10872 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10873 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10876 @kindex ? (Article)
10877 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10878 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10879 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10882 @kindex TAB (Article)
10883 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10884 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10885 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10888 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10889 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10890 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10893 @kindex R (Article)
10894 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10895 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10896 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10897 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10901 @kindex F (Article)
10902 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10903 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10904 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10905 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10913 @section Misc Article
10917 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10918 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10919 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10920 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10923 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10924 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10926 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10927 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10929 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10930 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10931 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10932 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10933 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10934 the contents of the article buffer.
10936 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10937 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10938 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10940 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10941 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10942 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10943 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10945 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10946 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10947 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10948 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10949 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10955 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10956 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10957 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10962 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10965 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10968 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10969 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10970 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10973 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10976 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10979 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10984 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10988 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10990 @item gnus-break-pages
10991 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10992 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10993 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10994 paging will not be done.
10996 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10997 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10998 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11003 @node Composing Messages
11004 @chapter Composing Messages
11005 @cindex composing messages
11008 @cindex sending mail
11013 @cindex using s/mime
11014 @cindex using smime
11016 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11017 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11018 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11019 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11020 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11021 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11024 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11025 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11026 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11027 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11028 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11029 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11030 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11031 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11034 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11035 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11041 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11044 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11045 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11046 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11047 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11048 @code{nil} include all headers.
11050 @item gnus-add-to-list
11051 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11052 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11053 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11055 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11056 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11057 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11058 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11059 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11060 confirmation is should be asked for.
11062 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11063 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11065 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11066 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11067 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11068 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11069 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11074 @node Posting Server
11075 @section Posting Server
11077 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11078 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11080 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11082 It can be quite complicated.
11084 @vindex gnus-post-method
11085 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11086 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11087 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11088 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11089 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11090 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11091 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11092 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11093 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11096 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11099 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11100 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11101 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11102 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11104 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11105 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11107 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11108 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11111 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11112 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11114 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11115 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11116 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11117 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11118 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11119 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11120 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11121 package correctly. An example:
11124 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11125 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11128 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11129 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11130 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11132 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11133 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11134 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11136 @node Mail and Post
11137 @section Mail and Post
11139 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11143 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11144 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11145 @cindex mailing lists
11147 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11148 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11149 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11150 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11151 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11152 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11153 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11154 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11155 still a pain, though.
11159 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11160 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11161 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11164 @findex ispell-message
11166 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11169 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11170 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11173 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11177 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11178 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11180 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11183 Modify to suit your needs.
11186 @node Archived Messages
11187 @section Archived Messages
11188 @cindex archived messages
11189 @cindex sent messages
11191 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11192 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11193 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11194 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11197 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11198 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11201 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11202 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11203 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11206 (nnfolder "archive"
11207 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11208 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11209 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11210 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11213 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11214 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11215 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11216 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11219 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11220 '(nnfolder "archive"
11221 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11222 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11223 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11226 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11228 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11229 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11230 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11232 This variable can be used to do the following:
11237 Messages will be saved in that group.
11239 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11240 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11241 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11242 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11243 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11244 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11245 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11246 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11250 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11252 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11253 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11256 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11261 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11263 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11266 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11268 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11271 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11273 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11274 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11275 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11276 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11279 More complex stuff:
11281 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11282 '((if (message-news-p)
11287 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11288 messages in one file per month:
11291 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11292 '((if (message-news-p)
11294 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11297 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11298 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11300 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11301 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11302 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11303 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11304 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11305 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11306 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11307 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11308 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11309 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11311 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11312 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11313 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11314 this will disable archiving.
11317 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11318 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11319 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11320 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11321 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11324 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11325 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11326 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11329 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11330 but the latter is the preferred method.
11332 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11333 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11334 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11336 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11337 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11338 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11339 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11340 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11341 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11342 changed in the future.
11347 @node Posting Styles
11348 @section Posting Styles
11349 @cindex posting styles
11352 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11354 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11355 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11356 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11359 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11360 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11361 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11362 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11363 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11368 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11369 (organization "What me?"))
11371 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11372 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11373 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11376 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11377 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11378 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11379 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11380 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11381 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11382 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11383 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11385 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11386 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11387 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11388 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11389 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11390 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11391 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11392 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11393 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11394 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11395 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11398 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11399 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11400 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11401 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11402 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11403 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11404 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11405 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11406 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11407 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11410 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11411 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11412 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11413 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11414 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11415 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11416 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11417 references chars lines xref extra.
11419 @vindex message-reply-headers
11421 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11422 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11423 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11425 @findex message-mail-p
11426 @findex message-news-p
11428 So here's a new example:
11431 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11433 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11435 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11436 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11438 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11439 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11440 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11441 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11442 (signature my-news-signature))
11443 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11444 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11445 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11446 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11447 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11448 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11449 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11450 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11451 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11452 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11454 (From (save-excursion
11455 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11456 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11458 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11461 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11462 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11463 if you fill many roles.
11470 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11471 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11472 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11473 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11474 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11476 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11477 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11478 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11479 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11480 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11484 @vindex nndraft-directory
11485 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11486 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11487 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11488 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11489 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11490 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11492 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11493 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11496 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11497 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11498 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11499 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11500 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11501 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11502 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11503 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11504 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11505 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11506 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11507 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11508 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11509 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11511 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11512 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11513 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11515 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11516 @kindex D e (Draft)
11517 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11518 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11519 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11521 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11524 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11525 @kindex D s (Draft)
11526 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11527 @kindex D S (Draft)
11528 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11529 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11530 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11531 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11532 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11535 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11536 @kindex D t (Draft)
11537 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11538 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11539 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11542 @node Rejected Articles
11543 @section Rejected Articles
11544 @cindex rejected articles
11546 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11547 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11548 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11549 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11551 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11552 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11553 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11554 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11555 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11557 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11558 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11559 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11561 @node Signing and encrypting
11562 @section Signing and encrypting
11564 @cindex using s/mime
11565 @cindex using smime
11567 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11568 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11569 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11570 (@pxref{Security}).
11572 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11573 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11574 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11575 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11576 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11577 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11578 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11579 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11580 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11581 automatically encrypted messages.
11583 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11584 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11585 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11590 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11591 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11593 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11596 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11597 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11599 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11602 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11603 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11605 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11608 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11609 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11611 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11614 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11615 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11617 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11620 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11621 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11623 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11626 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11627 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11628 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11632 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11634 @node Select Methods
11635 @chapter Select Methods
11636 @cindex foreign groups
11637 @cindex select methods
11639 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11640 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11641 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11642 personal mail group.
11644 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11645 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11646 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11647 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11648 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11649 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11651 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11652 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11654 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11657 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11658 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11659 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11660 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11661 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11663 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11666 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11667 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11668 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11669 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11670 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11671 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11672 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11673 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11677 @node Server Buffer
11678 @section Server Buffer
11680 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11681 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11682 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11683 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11684 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11685 back end represents a virtual server.
11687 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11688 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11689 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11690 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11692 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11693 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11694 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11695 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11696 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11697 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11698 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11700 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11701 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11704 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11705 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11706 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11707 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11708 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11709 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11710 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11713 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11714 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11717 @node Server Buffer Format
11718 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11719 @cindex server buffer format
11721 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11722 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11723 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11724 variable, with some simple extensions:
11729 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11732 The name of this server.
11735 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11738 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11741 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11742 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11743 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11744 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11754 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11757 @node Server Commands
11758 @subsection Server Commands
11759 @cindex server commands
11765 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11766 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11770 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11771 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11774 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11775 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11776 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11780 @findex gnus-server-exit
11781 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11785 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11786 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11790 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11791 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11795 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11796 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11800 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11801 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11805 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11806 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11807 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11812 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11813 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11814 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11815 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11820 @node Example Methods
11821 @subsection Example Methods
11823 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11826 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11829 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11835 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11836 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11839 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11840 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11842 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11843 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11847 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11850 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11851 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11853 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11854 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11855 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11859 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11862 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11865 Here's the method for a public spool:
11869 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11870 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11876 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11877 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11878 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11879 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11880 should probably look something like this:
11884 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11885 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11886 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11887 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11890 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11891 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11892 configuration to the example above:
11895 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11898 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11900 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11901 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11902 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11906 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11907 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11908 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11909 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11912 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11913 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11914 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11915 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11918 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11919 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11921 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11922 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11924 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11925 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11926 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11928 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11930 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11931 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11932 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11933 will contain the following:
11943 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11944 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11945 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11948 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11949 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11950 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11953 @node Server Variables
11954 @subsection Server Variables
11956 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11957 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11958 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11959 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11960 won't change the "derived" variables.
11962 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11963 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11964 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11965 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11966 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11967 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11968 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11969 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11970 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11974 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11975 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11976 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11980 @node Servers and Methods
11981 @subsection Servers and Methods
11983 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11984 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11985 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11986 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11990 @node Unavailable Servers
11991 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11993 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11994 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11995 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11996 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11997 actually the case or not.
11999 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12000 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12001 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12002 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12003 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12004 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12005 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12006 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12008 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12009 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12011 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12012 with the following commands:
12018 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12019 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12020 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12024 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12025 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12026 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12030 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12031 Mark the current server as unreachable
12032 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12035 @kindex M-o (Server)
12036 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12037 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12038 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12041 @kindex M-c (Server)
12042 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12043 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12044 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12048 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12049 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12050 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12054 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12055 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12061 @section Getting News
12062 @cindex reading news
12063 @cindex news back ends
12065 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12066 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12067 or it can read from a local spool.
12070 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12071 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12079 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12080 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12081 server as the, uhm, address.
12083 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12084 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12085 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12086 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12088 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12089 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12090 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12092 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12097 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12098 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12099 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12101 @cindex authentification
12102 @cindex nntp authentification
12103 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12104 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12105 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12106 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12107 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12108 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12109 present in this hook.
12111 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12112 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12113 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12114 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12115 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12116 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12117 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12118 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12119 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12120 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12121 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12122 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12126 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12129 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12131 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12132 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12133 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12134 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12135 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12136 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12137 @samp{force} is explained below.
12141 Here's an example file:
12144 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12145 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12148 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12149 have to be first, for instance.
12151 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12152 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12153 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12154 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12155 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12156 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12157 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12159 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12160 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12166 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12167 previously mentioned.
12169 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12171 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12172 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12173 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12174 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12175 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12178 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12179 '(("innd" (ding))))
12182 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12184 The default value is
12187 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12188 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12189 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12192 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12193 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12195 @item nntp-maximum-request
12196 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12197 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12198 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12199 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12200 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12201 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12202 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12204 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12205 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12206 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12207 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12208 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12209 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12210 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12211 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12212 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12213 no timeouts are done.
12215 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12216 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12217 @c @cindex PPP connections
12218 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12219 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12220 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12221 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12222 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12223 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12224 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12225 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12226 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12227 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12229 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12230 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12231 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12232 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12233 @c described above.
12235 @item nntp-server-hook
12236 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12237 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12240 @item nntp-buggy-select
12241 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12242 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12244 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12245 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12246 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12247 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12250 @item nntp-xover-commands
12251 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12254 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12255 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12259 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12260 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12261 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12262 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12263 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12264 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12265 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12266 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12267 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12268 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12269 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12271 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12272 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12273 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12275 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12276 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12277 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12278 server closes connection.
12280 @item nntp-record-commands
12281 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12282 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12283 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12284 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12285 that doesn't seem to work.
12287 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12288 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12289 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12290 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12291 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12292 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12293 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12294 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12296 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12297 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12298 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12299 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12300 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12301 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12302 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12305 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12308 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12309 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12311 @item nntp-read-timeout
12312 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12313 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12314 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12315 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12316 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12322 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12323 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12324 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12328 @node Direct Functions
12329 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12330 @cindex direct connection functions
12332 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12333 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12334 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12335 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12338 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12339 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12340 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12343 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12344 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12345 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12346 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12347 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12348 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12349 define a server as follows:
12352 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12354 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12355 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12357 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12358 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12359 (nntp-port-number 563)
12360 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12363 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12364 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12365 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12366 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12367 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12368 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12369 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12370 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12374 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12375 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12376 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12379 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12380 session, which is not a good idea.
12384 @node Indirect Functions
12385 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12386 @cindex indirect connection functions
12388 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12389 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12390 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12391 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12392 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12393 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12396 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12397 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12398 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12399 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12400 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12402 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12405 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12406 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12407 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12408 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12410 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12411 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12412 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12413 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12414 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12415 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12416 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12417 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12420 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12421 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12422 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12423 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12425 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12428 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12429 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12430 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12433 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12434 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12435 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12436 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12438 @item nntp-via-user-password
12439 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12440 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12442 @item nntp-via-envuser
12443 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12444 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12445 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12446 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12448 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12449 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12450 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12451 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12458 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12463 @item nntp-via-user-name
12464 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12465 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12467 @item nntp-via-address
12468 @vindex nntp-via-address
12469 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12474 @node Common Variables
12475 @subsubsection Common Variables
12477 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12478 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12483 @item nntp-pre-command
12484 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12485 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12486 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12487 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12488 wrapper for instance.
12491 @vindex nntp-address
12492 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12494 @item nntp-port-number
12495 @vindex nntp-port-number
12496 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12497 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12498 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12499 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12501 @item nntp-end-of-line
12502 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12503 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12504 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12505 using a non native connection function.
12507 @item nntp-telnet-command
12508 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12509 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12510 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12511 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12513 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12514 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12515 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12522 @subsection News Spool
12526 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12527 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12528 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12531 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12532 anything else) as the address.
12534 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12535 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12536 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12537 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12541 @item nnspool-inews-program
12542 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12543 Program used to post an article.
12545 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12546 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12547 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12549 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12550 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12551 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12552 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12554 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12555 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12556 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12557 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12559 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12560 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12561 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12563 @item nnspool-active-file
12564 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12565 The name of the active file.
12567 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12568 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12569 The name of the group descriptions file.
12571 @item nnspool-history-file
12572 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12573 The name of the news history file.
12575 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12576 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12577 The name of the active date file.
12579 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12580 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12581 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12584 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12585 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12587 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12588 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12589 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12595 @section Getting Mail
12596 @cindex reading mail
12599 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12603 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12604 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12605 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12606 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12607 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12608 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12609 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12610 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12611 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12612 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12613 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12614 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12615 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12619 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12620 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12622 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12623 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12624 of a culture shock.
12626 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12627 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12629 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12630 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12631 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12632 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12634 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12636 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12637 deleted? How awful!
12639 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12640 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12641 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12642 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12645 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12646 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12647 they want to treat a message.
12649 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12650 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12651 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12652 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12653 archived somewhere else.
12655 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12656 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12657 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12658 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12659 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12661 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12662 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12663 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12665 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12666 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12669 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12670 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12671 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12672 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12673 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12675 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12676 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12677 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12678 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12679 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12680 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12684 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12685 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12687 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12688 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12689 and things will happen automatically.
12691 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12692 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12695 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12698 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12699 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12700 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12701 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12702 like any other group.
12704 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12707 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12708 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12709 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12713 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12714 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12715 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12718 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12719 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12720 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12723 @node Splitting Mail
12724 @subsection Splitting Mail
12725 @cindex splitting mail
12726 @cindex mail splitting
12728 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12729 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12730 to be split into groups.
12733 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12734 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12735 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12736 ("mail.other" "")))
12739 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12740 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12741 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12742 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12743 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12744 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12745 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12748 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12751 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12752 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12753 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12754 mail belongs in that group.
12756 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12757 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12758 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12759 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12760 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12761 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12763 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12764 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12765 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12766 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12767 thinks should carry this mail message.
12769 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12770 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12771 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12772 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12774 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12775 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12776 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12777 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12778 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12780 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12783 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12784 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12785 links. If that's the case for you, set
12786 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12787 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12789 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12790 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12791 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12792 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12793 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12794 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12797 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12798 Header lines longer than the value of
12799 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12802 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12803 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12804 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12805 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12806 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12807 can be turned off completely by binding
12808 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12809 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12811 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12812 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12813 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12814 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12815 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12816 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12817 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12820 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12821 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12822 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12823 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12824 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12825 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12826 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12827 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12828 month's rent money.
12832 @subsection Mail Sources
12834 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12835 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12839 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12840 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12841 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12845 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12846 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12848 @cindex mail server
12851 @cindex mail source
12853 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12854 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12859 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12862 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12863 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12864 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12867 The following mail source types are available:
12871 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12877 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12878 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12879 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12882 An example file mail source:
12885 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12888 Or using the default file name:
12894 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12895 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12896 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12899 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12903 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12906 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12910 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12913 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12915 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12918 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12922 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12923 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12924 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12925 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12926 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12927 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12928 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12929 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12930 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12931 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12933 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12934 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12935 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12936 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12942 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12946 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12950 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12951 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12952 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12953 predicate are considered.
12957 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12961 An example directory mail source:
12964 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12969 Get mail from a POP server.
12975 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12976 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12979 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12980 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12981 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12982 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12983 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12986 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12990 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12994 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12995 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12998 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13001 The valid format specifier characters are:
13005 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13006 included in this string.
13009 The name of the server.
13012 The port number of the server.
13015 The user name to use.
13018 The password to use.
13021 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13022 corresponding keywords.
13025 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13026 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13029 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13030 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13033 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13034 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13037 @item :authentication
13038 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13039 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13044 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13045 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13047 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13048 default user name, and default fetcher:
13054 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13057 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13058 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13061 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13064 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13068 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13069 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13070 contains exactly one mail.
13076 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13077 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13080 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13081 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13083 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13084 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13085 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13088 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13089 from locking problems).
13093 Two example maildir mail sources:
13096 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13097 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13101 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13106 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13107 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13108 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13109 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13112 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13113 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13119 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13120 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13123 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13124 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13127 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13131 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13135 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13136 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13137 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13138 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13140 @item :authentication
13141 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13142 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13143 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13144 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13147 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13148 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13149 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13155 The valid format specifier characters are:
13159 The name of the server.
13162 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13165 The port number of the server.
13168 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13169 corresponding keywords.
13172 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13173 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13176 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13177 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13178 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13179 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13180 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13181 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13184 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13185 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13186 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13187 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13190 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13191 after finishing the fetch.
13195 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13198 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13200 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13204 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13205 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13206 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13208 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13209 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13211 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13217 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13218 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13221 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13225 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13229 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13230 folder after finishing the fetch.
13234 An example webmail source:
13237 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13239 :password "secret")
13244 @item Common Keywords
13245 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13251 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13252 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13256 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13261 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13262 useful when you use local mail and news.
13267 @subsubsection Function Interface
13269 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13270 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13271 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13272 consider the following mail-source setting:
13275 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13276 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13279 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13280 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13281 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13282 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13283 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13285 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13288 @node Mail Source Customization
13289 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13291 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13292 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13296 @item mail-source-crash-box
13297 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13298 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13299 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13301 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13302 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13303 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13305 @item mail-source-directory
13306 @vindex mail-source-directory
13307 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13308 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13309 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13312 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13313 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13314 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13315 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13316 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13317 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13319 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13320 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13321 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13323 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13324 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13325 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13326 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13331 @node Fetching Mail
13332 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13334 @vindex mail-sources
13335 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13336 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13337 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13338 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13340 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13341 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13344 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13345 mail server, you'd say something like:
13350 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13351 :password "secret")))
13354 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13358 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13359 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13362 :password "secret")))
13366 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13367 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13368 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13369 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13370 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13371 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13375 @node Mail Back End Variables
13376 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13378 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13382 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13383 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13384 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13385 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13387 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13388 @item nnmail-split-hook
13389 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13390 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13391 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13392 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13393 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13394 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13395 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13396 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13397 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13400 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13401 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13402 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13403 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13404 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13405 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13406 starting to handle the new mail) and
13407 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13408 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13409 default file modes the new mail files get:
13412 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13413 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13415 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13416 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13419 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13420 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13421 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13422 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13423 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13424 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13425 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13427 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13428 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13429 @findex delete-file
13430 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13432 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13433 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13434 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13435 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13436 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13438 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13439 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13440 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13441 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13442 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13444 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13445 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13446 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13451 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13452 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13453 @cindex mail splitting
13454 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13456 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13457 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13458 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13459 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13460 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13461 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13463 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13466 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13467 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13468 ;; from real errors.
13469 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13471 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13472 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13473 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13474 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13475 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13476 ;; Other mailing lists...
13477 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13478 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13479 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13480 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13481 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13482 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13483 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13484 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13486 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13487 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13491 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13492 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13493 the five possible split syntaxes:
13498 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13499 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13503 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13504 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13505 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13506 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13507 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13508 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13509 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13510 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13513 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13514 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13515 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13516 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13519 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13520 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13523 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13524 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13527 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13528 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13529 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13530 function should return a @var{split}.
13533 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13534 body of the messages:
13537 (defun split-on-body ()
13539 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13540 (goto-char (point-min))
13541 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13545 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13546 when the @code{:} function is run.
13549 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13550 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13551 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13555 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13559 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13560 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13561 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13562 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13563 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13565 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13566 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13567 are expanded as specified by the variable
13568 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13569 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13572 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13573 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13574 when all this splitting is performed.
13576 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13577 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13578 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13581 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13584 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13585 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13587 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13588 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13589 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13590 groupings 1 through 9.
13592 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13593 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13594 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13595 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13596 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13597 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13598 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13599 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13600 it once per thread.
13602 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13603 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13604 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13607 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13608 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13610 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13611 ;; other splits go here
13615 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13616 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13617 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13618 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13619 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13620 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13621 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13622 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13623 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13624 unless the group name matches the regexp
13625 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13626 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13627 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13628 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13629 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13630 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13631 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13632 messages goes into the new group.
13634 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13635 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13636 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13637 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13638 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13642 @node Group Mail Splitting
13643 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13644 @cindex mail splitting
13645 @cindex group mail splitting
13647 @findex gnus-group-split
13648 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13649 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13650 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13651 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13652 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13653 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13654 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13655 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13657 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13658 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13659 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13660 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13662 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13663 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13664 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13665 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13666 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13667 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13668 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13670 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13671 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13672 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13673 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13674 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13675 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13676 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13678 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13679 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13680 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13681 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13682 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13683 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13684 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13685 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13686 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13687 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13688 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13689 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13690 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13692 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13697 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13698 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13700 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13701 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13702 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13703 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13705 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13708 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13709 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13710 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13713 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13714 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13715 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13719 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13720 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13721 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13725 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13728 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13729 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13730 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13731 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13732 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13733 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13734 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13735 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13736 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13738 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13739 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13740 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13741 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13742 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13743 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13744 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13745 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13746 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13748 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13749 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13750 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13751 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13752 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13753 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13756 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13759 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13760 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13761 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13762 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13763 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13766 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13767 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13768 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13769 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13771 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13772 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13773 @cindex incorporating old mail
13774 @cindex import old mail
13776 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13777 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13778 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13781 Doing so can be quite easy.
13783 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13784 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13785 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13786 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13787 your @code{nnml} groups.
13793 Go to the group buffer.
13796 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13797 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13800 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13803 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13804 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13807 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13808 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13811 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13812 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13813 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13814 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13815 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13817 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13818 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13819 using the new mail back end.
13822 @node Expiring Mail
13823 @subsection Expiring Mail
13824 @cindex article expiry
13826 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13827 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13828 different approach to mail reading.
13830 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13831 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13832 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13833 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13834 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13835 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13838 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13839 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13840 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13841 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13842 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13843 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13844 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13845 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13846 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13848 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13849 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13850 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13851 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13852 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13853 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13854 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13857 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13858 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13859 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13860 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13861 into its own group.)
13863 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13864 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13865 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13866 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13867 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13868 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13869 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13870 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13873 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13874 Groups that match the regular expression
13875 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13876 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13877 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13879 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13880 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13881 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13882 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13883 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13885 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13887 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13888 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13889 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13892 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13893 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13894 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13895 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13896 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13898 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13899 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13902 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13903 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13906 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13907 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13909 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13910 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13911 don't really mix very well.
13913 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13914 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13915 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13916 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13919 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13920 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13921 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13922 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13925 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13927 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13929 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13931 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13933 ((string= group "important")
13939 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13940 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13942 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13943 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13944 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13947 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13948 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13950 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13951 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13952 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13953 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13954 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13955 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13956 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13957 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13958 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13959 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13960 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13961 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13962 name or @code{delete}.
13964 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13966 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13969 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13970 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13971 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13972 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13973 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13976 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13977 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13978 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13979 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13980 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13983 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13984 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13985 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13986 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13987 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13988 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13990 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13991 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13992 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13993 easier for procmail users.
13995 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13996 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13997 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13998 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13999 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14000 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14001 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14002 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14003 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14004 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14005 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14006 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14007 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14010 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14012 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14013 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14014 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14015 auto-expire turned on.
14019 @subsection Washing Mail
14020 @cindex mail washing
14021 @cindex list server brain damage
14022 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14024 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14025 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14026 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14027 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14028 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14029 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14031 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14032 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14033 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14036 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14037 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14038 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14039 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14042 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14043 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14044 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14045 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14046 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14049 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14050 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14051 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14052 Emacs running on MS machines.
14056 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14057 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14058 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14059 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14062 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14063 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14064 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14065 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14067 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14068 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14069 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14070 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14071 into a feature by documenting it.)
14073 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14074 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14075 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14076 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14077 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14078 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14079 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14082 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14083 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14086 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14087 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14090 This can also be done non-destructively with
14091 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14093 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14094 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14095 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14097 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14098 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14100 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14101 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14102 @code{References} headers.
14106 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14107 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14108 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14112 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14113 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14114 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14121 @subsection Duplicates
14123 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14124 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14125 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14126 @cindex duplicate mails
14127 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14128 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14129 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14130 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14131 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14132 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14133 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14134 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14135 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14136 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14137 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14138 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14139 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14141 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14142 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14143 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14144 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14146 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14149 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14150 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14154 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14155 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14156 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14157 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14158 (any mail "mail.misc")
14165 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14166 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14171 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14172 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14173 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14174 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14175 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14178 @node Not Reading Mail
14179 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14181 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14182 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14183 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14185 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14186 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14187 mail, which should help.
14189 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14190 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14191 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14192 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14193 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14194 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14195 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14196 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14197 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14198 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14199 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14201 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14202 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14206 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14207 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14209 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14210 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14211 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14213 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14214 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14215 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14216 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14217 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14218 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14219 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14222 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14223 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14224 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14225 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14226 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14227 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14231 @node Unix Mail Box
14232 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14234 @cindex unix mail box
14236 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14237 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14238 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14239 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14240 which group it belongs in.
14242 Virtual server settings:
14245 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14246 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14247 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14250 @item nnmbox-active-file
14251 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14252 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14253 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14255 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14256 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14257 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14258 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14263 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14267 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14268 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14269 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14270 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14271 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14273 Virtual server settings:
14276 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14277 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14278 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14280 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14281 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14282 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14283 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14285 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14286 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14287 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14293 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14295 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14297 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14298 format. It should be used with some caution.
14300 @vindex nnml-directory
14301 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14302 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14303 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14304 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14306 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14309 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14310 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14311 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14312 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14313 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14314 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14315 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14316 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14318 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14319 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14320 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14321 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14323 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14325 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14326 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14327 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14328 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14329 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14330 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14331 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14332 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14335 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14336 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14337 them next time it starts.
14339 Virtual server settings:
14342 @item nnml-directory
14343 @vindex nnml-directory
14344 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14345 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14348 @item nnml-active-file
14349 @vindex nnml-active-file
14350 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14351 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14353 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14354 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14355 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14356 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14358 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14359 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14360 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14363 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14364 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14365 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14366 default is @code{nil}.
14368 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14369 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14370 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14372 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14373 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14374 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14376 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14377 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14378 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14379 default is @code{nil}.
14381 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14382 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14383 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14385 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14386 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14387 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14392 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14393 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14394 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14395 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14396 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14397 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14398 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14403 @subsubsection MH Spool
14405 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14407 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14408 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14409 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14410 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14412 Virtual server settings:
14415 @item nnmh-directory
14416 @vindex nnmh-directory
14417 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14418 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14421 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14422 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14423 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14427 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14428 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14429 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14430 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14431 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14432 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14433 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14438 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14440 @cindex mbox folders
14441 @cindex mail folders
14443 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14444 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14445 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14448 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14450 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14451 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14452 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14453 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14454 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14455 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14456 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14457 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14458 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14459 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14461 Virtual server settings:
14464 @item nnfolder-directory
14465 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14466 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14467 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14470 @item nnfolder-active-file
14471 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14472 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14474 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14475 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14476 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14477 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14479 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14480 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14481 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14484 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14485 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14486 @cindex backup files
14487 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14488 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14489 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14490 your @file{.emacs} file:
14493 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14494 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14496 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14499 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14500 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14501 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14502 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14503 extract some information from it before removing it.
14505 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14506 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14507 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14508 default is @code{nil}.
14510 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14511 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14512 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14514 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14515 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14516 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14517 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14519 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14520 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14521 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14522 default is @code{nil}.
14524 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14525 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14526 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14528 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14529 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14530 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14531 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14536 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14537 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14538 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14539 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14540 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14541 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14544 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14545 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14547 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14548 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14549 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14550 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14551 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14553 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14554 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14555 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14556 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14557 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14558 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14559 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14560 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14563 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14564 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14565 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14566 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14571 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14572 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14573 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14574 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14575 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14576 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14577 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14578 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14579 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14580 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14581 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14582 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14583 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14588 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14589 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14590 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14591 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14592 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14593 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14594 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14595 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14596 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14597 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14598 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14599 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14600 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14601 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14603 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14604 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14609 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14610 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14611 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14612 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14613 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14614 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14615 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14616 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14617 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14618 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14619 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14620 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14621 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14622 provided by the active file and overviews.
14624 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14625 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14626 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14627 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14628 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14631 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14632 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14637 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14638 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14639 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14640 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14641 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14642 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14643 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14647 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14648 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14649 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14650 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14651 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14652 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14653 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14654 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14655 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14657 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14658 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14659 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14660 friendly mail back end all over.
14664 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14665 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14666 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14667 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14668 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14669 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14670 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14671 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14674 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14675 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14676 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14677 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14678 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14679 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14680 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14681 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14682 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14683 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14684 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14686 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14687 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14688 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14689 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14690 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14691 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14692 This will probably be changed in the future.
14694 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14695 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14696 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14697 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14698 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14701 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14702 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14704 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14705 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14706 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14707 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14708 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14709 would) to make it use less memory.
14711 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14712 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14713 depending in part on your file system.
14715 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14716 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14721 @node Browsing the Web
14722 @section Browsing the Web
14724 @cindex browsing the web
14728 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14729 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14730 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14731 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14732 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14733 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14734 even know what a news group is.
14736 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14737 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14738 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14739 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14740 you mad in the end.
14742 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14745 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14746 interfaces to these sources.
14750 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14751 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14752 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14753 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14754 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14755 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14758 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14760 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14761 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14762 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14763 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14764 though, you should be ok.
14766 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14767 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14768 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14769 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14770 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14772 @node Archiving Mail
14773 @subsection Archiving Mail
14774 @cindex archiving mail
14775 @cindex backup of mail
14777 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14778 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14779 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14780 marks is fairly simple.
14782 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14783 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14786 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14787 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14788 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14789 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14790 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14791 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14792 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14793 before you restore the data.
14795 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14796 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14797 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14798 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14799 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14800 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14801 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14802 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14803 is unnecessary in that case.
14806 @subsection Web Searches
14811 @cindex Usenet searches
14812 @cindex searching the Usenet
14814 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14815 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14816 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14817 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14818 searches without having to use a browser.
14820 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14821 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14822 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14823 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14824 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14826 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14827 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14828 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14829 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14830 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14831 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14832 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14833 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14834 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14835 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14838 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14839 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14840 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14841 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14842 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14843 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14845 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14846 to use @code{nnweb}.
14848 Virtual server variables:
14853 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14854 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14855 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14858 @vindex nnweb-search
14859 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14861 @item nnweb-max-hits
14862 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14863 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14866 @item nnweb-type-definition
14867 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14868 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14869 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14874 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14878 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14881 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14884 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14888 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14895 @subsection Slashdot
14899 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14900 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14901 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14903 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14904 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14907 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14908 '((nnslashdot "")))
14911 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14912 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14913 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14914 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14915 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14918 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14919 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14921 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14922 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14923 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14924 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14925 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14926 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14929 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14932 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14933 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14934 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14935 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14936 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14937 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14938 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14940 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14941 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14942 The login name to use when posting.
14944 @item nnslashdot-password
14945 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14946 The password to use when posting.
14948 @item nnslashdot-directory
14949 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14950 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14951 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14953 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14954 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14955 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14956 news articles and comments. The default is
14957 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14959 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14960 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14961 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14963 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14965 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14966 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14967 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14969 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14971 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14972 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14973 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14975 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14976 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14977 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14978 updated. The default is 0.
14985 @subsection Ultimate
14987 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14989 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14990 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14991 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14992 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14994 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14995 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14996 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14997 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14998 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14999 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15000 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15002 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15005 @item nnultimate-directory
15006 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15007 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15008 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
15013 @subsection Web Archive
15015 @cindex Web Archive
15017 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15018 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15019 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15020 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15023 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15024 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15025 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15026 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15027 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15028 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15029 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15030 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15032 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15035 @item nnwarchive-directory
15036 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15037 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15038 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
15040 @item nnwarchive-login
15041 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15042 The account name on the web server.
15044 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15045 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15046 The password for your account on the web server.
15054 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15055 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15056 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15059 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15060 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15063 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15066 @item nnrss-directory
15067 @vindex nnrss-directory
15068 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15069 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
15073 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15074 the summary buffer.
15077 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15078 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15080 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15082 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15083 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15086 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15089 (require 'browse-url)
15091 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15093 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15096 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15097 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15100 (browse-url (cdr url))
15101 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15102 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15104 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15105 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15106 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15107 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15110 @node Customizing w3
15111 @subsection Customizing w3
15117 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15118 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15119 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15121 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15122 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15123 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15126 (eval-after-load "w3"
15128 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15129 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15130 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15131 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15133 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15136 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15137 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15146 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15147 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15148 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15149 specify the network address of the server.
15151 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15152 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15153 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15154 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15155 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15157 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15158 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15159 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15160 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15162 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15163 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15164 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15165 usage explained in this section.
15167 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15168 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15169 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15172 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15173 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15174 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15176 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15177 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15178 ; a UW server running on localhost
15180 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15181 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15182 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15183 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15184 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15185 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15186 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15187 (nnimap-stream network))
15188 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15190 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15191 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15192 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15195 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15196 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15197 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15198 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15200 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15205 @item nnimap-address
15206 @vindex nnimap-address
15208 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15209 server name if not specified.
15211 @item nnimap-server-port
15212 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15213 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15215 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15218 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15219 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15222 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15223 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15224 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15225 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15226 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15227 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15228 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15230 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15231 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15232 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15235 Example server specification:
15238 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15239 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15240 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15243 @item nnimap-stream
15244 @vindex nnimap-stream
15245 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15246 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15247 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15248 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15250 Example server specification:
15253 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15254 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15257 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15261 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15262 @samp{imtest} program.
15264 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15266 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15267 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15270 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15271 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15272 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15274 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15276 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15279 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15280 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15281 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15282 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15283 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15284 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15285 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15286 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15287 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15290 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15291 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15292 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15293 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15294 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15295 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15296 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15297 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15298 distribution, for instance).
15300 @vindex imap-shell-program
15301 @vindex imap-shell-host
15302 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15303 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15305 @item nnimap-authenticator
15306 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15308 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15309 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15311 Example server specification:
15314 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15315 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15318 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15322 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15323 external program @code{imtest}.
15325 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15328 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15329 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15331 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15333 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15335 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15338 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15340 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15341 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15342 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15343 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15344 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15345 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15348 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15349 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15350 running in circles yet?
15352 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15353 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15356 The possible options are:
15361 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15364 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15365 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15366 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15367 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15369 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15374 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15375 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15377 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15378 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15379 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15380 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15381 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15384 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15385 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15388 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15389 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15390 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15391 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15394 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15395 as ticked for other users.
15397 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15399 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15401 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15402 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15403 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15404 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15406 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15407 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15408 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15409 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15411 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15412 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15414 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15415 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15416 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15422 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15423 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15424 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15425 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15426 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15431 @node Splitting in IMAP
15432 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15433 @cindex splitting imap mail
15435 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15436 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15437 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15438 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15439 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15443 Here are the variables of interest:
15447 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15448 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15450 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15452 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15453 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15455 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15457 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15458 @cindex splitting, inbox
15460 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15462 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15463 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15467 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15468 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15471 No nnmail equivalent.
15473 @item nnimap-split-rule
15474 @cindex Splitting, rules
15475 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15477 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15480 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15481 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15482 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15483 Neither did I, we need examples.
15486 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15488 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15489 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15490 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15493 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15494 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15495 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15497 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15498 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15502 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15505 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15506 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15508 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15509 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15510 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15511 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15513 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15514 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15515 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15516 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15517 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15518 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15520 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15521 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15522 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15524 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15525 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15526 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15528 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15530 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15531 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15532 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15535 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15536 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15537 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15538 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15539 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15540 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15543 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15544 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15545 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15546 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15547 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15548 group/function elements.
15550 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15552 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15554 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15556 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15557 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15559 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15560 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15561 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15564 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15565 @cindex splitting, fancy
15566 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15567 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15569 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15570 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15571 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15573 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15574 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15575 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15576 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15581 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15582 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15585 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15587 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15588 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15589 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15591 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15592 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15593 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15594 analyses the body to split the article.
15598 @node Expiring in IMAP
15599 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15600 @cindex expiring imap mail
15602 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15603 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15604 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15605 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15606 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15607 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15610 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15611 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15612 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15613 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15614 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15615 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15616 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15617 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15621 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15622 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15624 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15625 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15627 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15629 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15630 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15631 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15632 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15636 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15637 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15638 @cindex editing imap acls
15639 @cindex Access Control Lists
15640 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15642 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15644 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15645 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15646 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15649 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15650 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15651 editing window with detailed instructions.
15653 Some possible uses:
15657 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15658 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15659 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15661 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15662 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15663 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15667 @node Expunging mailboxes
15668 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15672 @cindex Manual expunging
15674 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15676 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15677 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15678 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15680 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15683 @node A note on namespaces
15684 @subsection A note on namespaces
15685 @cindex IMAP namespace
15688 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15689 following text in the RFC:
15692 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15694 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15695 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15696 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15697 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15699 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15700 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15701 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15702 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15703 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15704 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15707 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15708 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15709 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15711 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15712 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15713 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15714 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15715 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15716 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15717 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15718 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15720 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15721 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15722 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15724 @node Other Sources
15725 @section Other Sources
15727 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15728 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15732 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15733 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15734 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15735 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15736 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15740 @node Directory Groups
15741 @subsection Directory Groups
15743 @cindex directory groups
15745 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15746 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15749 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15750 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15751 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15752 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15754 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15755 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15756 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15757 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15758 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15760 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15762 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15763 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15764 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15765 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15768 @node Anything Groups
15769 @subsection Anything Groups
15772 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15773 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15774 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15777 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15778 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15779 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15780 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15781 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15782 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15783 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15784 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15785 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15786 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15789 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15790 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15791 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15792 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15794 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15795 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15796 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15797 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15799 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15800 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15801 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15802 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15803 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15804 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15805 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15806 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15811 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15812 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15813 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15814 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15816 @item nneething-exclude-files
15817 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15818 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15819 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15821 @item nneething-include-files
15822 @vindex nneething-include-files
15823 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15824 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15826 @item nneething-map-file
15827 @vindex nneething-map-file
15828 Name of the map files.
15832 @node Document Groups
15833 @subsection Document Groups
15835 @cindex documentation group
15838 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15839 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15846 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15851 The standard Unix mbox file.
15853 @cindex MMDF mail box
15855 The MMDF mail box format.
15858 Several news articles appended into a file.
15861 @cindex rnews batch files
15862 The rnews batch transport format.
15863 @cindex forwarded messages
15866 Forwarded articles.
15869 Netscape mail boxes.
15872 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15874 @item standard-digest
15875 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15878 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15880 @item lanl-gov-announce
15881 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15883 @item rfc822-forward
15884 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15887 The Outlook mail box.
15890 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15893 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15896 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15899 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15905 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15908 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15914 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15915 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15916 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15919 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15920 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15921 group. And that's it.
15923 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15924 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15925 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15926 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15927 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15928 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15929 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15930 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15931 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15932 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15934 Virtual server variables:
15937 @item nndoc-article-type
15938 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15939 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15940 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15941 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15942 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15943 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15945 @item nndoc-post-type
15946 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15947 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15948 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15953 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15957 @node Document Server Internals
15958 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15960 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15961 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15962 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15963 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15965 First, here's an example document type definition:
15969 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15970 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15973 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15974 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15975 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15976 types can be defined with very few settings:
15979 @item first-article
15980 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15981 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15984 @item article-begin
15985 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15986 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15988 @item head-begin-function
15989 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15992 @item nndoc-head-begin
15993 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15996 @item nndoc-head-end
15997 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15998 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16000 @item body-begin-function
16001 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16005 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16008 @item body-end-function
16009 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16013 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16016 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16017 regexp will be totally ignored.
16021 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16022 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16023 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16024 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16025 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16028 @item prepare-body-function
16029 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16030 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16031 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16033 @item article-transform-function
16034 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16035 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16036 body of the article.
16038 @item generate-head-function
16039 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16040 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16041 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16042 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16046 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16051 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16052 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16053 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16054 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16055 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16056 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16057 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16058 (subtype digest guess))
16061 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16062 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16063 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16064 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16065 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16067 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16068 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16069 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16070 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16071 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16072 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16073 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16074 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16075 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16076 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16084 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16085 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16086 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16088 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16089 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16090 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16093 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16094 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16095 that interested in doing things properly.
16097 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16098 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16101 First some terminology:
16106 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16107 get news and/or mail from.
16110 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16111 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16114 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16118 @item message packets
16119 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16120 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16121 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16123 @item response packets
16124 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16125 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16126 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16136 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16137 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16138 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16139 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16142 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16145 You put the packet in your home directory.
16148 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16149 the native or secondary server.
16152 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16153 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16156 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16160 You transfer this packet to the server.
16163 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16166 You then repeat until you die.
16170 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16171 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16174 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16175 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16176 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16180 @node SOUP Commands
16181 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16183 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16187 @kindex G s b (Group)
16188 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16189 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16190 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16191 process/prefix convention.
16194 @kindex G s w (Group)
16195 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16196 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16199 @kindex G s s (Group)
16200 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16201 Send all replies from the replies packet
16202 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16205 @kindex G s p (Group)
16206 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16207 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16210 @kindex G s r (Group)
16211 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16212 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16215 @kindex O s (Summary)
16216 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16217 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16218 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16219 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16224 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16229 @item gnus-soup-directory
16230 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16231 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16232 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16234 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16235 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16236 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16237 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16239 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16240 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16241 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16242 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16244 @item gnus-soup-packer
16245 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16246 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16247 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16249 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16250 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16251 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16252 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16254 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16255 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16256 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16258 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16259 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16260 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16261 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16267 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16270 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16271 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16272 you can read them at leisure.
16274 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16278 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16279 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16280 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16281 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16283 @item nnsoup-directory
16284 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16285 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16286 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16288 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16289 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16290 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16291 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16293 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16294 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16295 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16296 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16297 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16299 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16300 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16301 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16302 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16304 @item nnsoup-active-file
16305 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16306 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16307 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16308 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16309 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16311 @item nnsoup-packer
16312 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16313 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16314 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16316 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16317 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16318 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16319 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16321 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16322 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16323 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16326 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16327 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16328 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16331 @item nnsoup-always-save
16332 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16333 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16339 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16341 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16342 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16343 more for that to happen.
16345 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16346 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16347 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16350 In specific, this is what it does:
16353 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16354 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16357 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16358 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16359 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16362 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16363 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16364 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16367 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16368 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16369 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16371 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16377 @item nngateway-address
16378 @vindex nngateway-address
16379 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16381 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16382 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16383 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16384 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16385 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16386 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16387 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16390 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16391 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16392 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16395 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16398 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16401 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16404 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16406 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16409 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16410 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16411 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16413 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16415 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16416 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16417 @code{nngateway-address}.
16422 (setq gnus-post-method
16424 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16425 (nngateway-header-transformation
16426 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16434 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16437 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16442 @node Combined Groups
16443 @section Combined Groups
16445 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16449 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16450 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16454 @node Virtual Groups
16455 @subsection Virtual Groups
16457 @cindex virtual groups
16458 @cindex merging groups
16460 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16463 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16464 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16465 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16467 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16468 regexp to match component groups.
16470 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16471 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16472 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16473 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16474 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16475 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16476 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16477 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16479 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16480 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16483 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16486 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16487 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16489 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16490 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16491 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16492 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16495 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16498 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16499 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16500 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16502 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16503 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16504 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16505 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16506 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16508 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16509 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16510 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16512 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16513 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16514 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16515 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16516 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16517 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16518 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16519 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16520 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16521 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16522 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16524 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16525 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16526 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16527 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16528 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16529 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16530 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16532 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16533 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16535 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16536 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16540 @node Kibozed Groups
16541 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16545 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16546 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16547 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16548 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16550 @kindex G k (Group)
16551 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16554 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16555 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16556 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16557 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16559 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16560 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16561 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16563 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16564 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16565 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16566 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16567 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16568 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16569 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16570 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16572 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16573 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16574 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16575 Stranger things have happened.
16577 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16578 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16580 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16581 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16582 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16583 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16584 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16585 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16587 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16588 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16591 @node Gnus Unplugged
16592 @section Gnus Unplugged
16597 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16599 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16600 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16601 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16602 read news. Believe it or not.
16604 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16605 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16606 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16607 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16608 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16610 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16611 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16612 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16613 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16614 reading news on a machine.
16616 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16617 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16619 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16622 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16623 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16624 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16625 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16626 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16627 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16628 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16629 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16630 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16631 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16632 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16633 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16638 @subsection Agent Basics
16640 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16642 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16643 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16644 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16645 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16647 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16648 connected to the net continuously.
16650 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16651 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16653 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16658 @findex gnus-unplugged
16659 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16660 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16661 already fetched while in this mode.
16664 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16665 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16666 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16667 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16668 Source Specifiers}).
16671 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16672 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16673 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16674 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16675 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16678 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16679 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16680 then you read the news offline.
16683 And then you go to step 2.
16686 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16692 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16693 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16694 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16695 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16696 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16697 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16698 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16699 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16702 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16709 @node Agent Categories
16710 @subsection Agent Categories
16712 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16713 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16714 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16715 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16716 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16717 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16718 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16720 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16721 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16722 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16723 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16724 managing categories.
16727 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16728 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16729 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16733 @node Category Syntax
16734 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16736 A category consists of two things.
16740 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16741 are eligible for downloading; and
16744 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16745 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16746 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16749 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16750 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16751 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16752 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16754 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16755 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16756 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16758 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16759 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16760 operators sprinkled in between.
16762 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16764 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16765 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16771 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16772 short (for some value of ``short'').
16774 Here's a more complex predicate:
16783 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16784 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16787 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16788 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16789 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16791 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16792 you want to do, you can write your own.
16796 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16797 lines; default 100.
16800 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16801 lines; default 200.
16804 True iff the article has a download score less than
16805 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16808 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16809 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16812 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16813 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16814 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16823 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16824 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16825 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16828 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16829 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16830 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16831 something along the lines of the following:
16834 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16835 "Say whether an article is old."
16836 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16837 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16840 with the predicate then defined as:
16843 (not my-article-old-p)
16846 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16847 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16851 (require 'gnus-agent)
16852 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16853 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16854 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16857 and simply specify your predicate as:
16863 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16864 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16865 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16866 just don't give a damn.
16868 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16869 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16870 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16871 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16872 parameters like so:
16875 (agent-predicate . short)
16878 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16879 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16880 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16882 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16885 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16888 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16889 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16890 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16893 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16894 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16895 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16896 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16897 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16898 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16900 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16901 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16902 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16903 if it's to be specific to that group.
16905 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16912 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16913 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16919 Category specification
16923 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16929 Group Parameter specification
16932 (agent-score ("from"
16933 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16938 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16944 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16951 Category specification
16954 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16960 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16964 Group Parameter specification
16967 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16970 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16975 Use @code{normal} score files
16977 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16978 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16979 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16980 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16982 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16983 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16984 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16985 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16989 Category Specification
16996 Group Parameter specification
16999 (agent-score . file)
17004 @node Category Buffer
17005 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17007 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17008 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17009 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17011 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17015 @kindex q (Category)
17016 @findex gnus-category-exit
17017 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17020 @kindex k (Category)
17021 @findex gnus-category-kill
17022 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17025 @kindex c (Category)
17026 @findex gnus-category-copy
17027 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17030 @kindex a (Category)
17031 @findex gnus-category-add
17032 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17035 @kindex p (Category)
17036 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17037 Edit the predicate of the current category
17038 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17041 @kindex g (Category)
17042 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17043 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17044 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17047 @kindex s (Category)
17048 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17049 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17050 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17053 @kindex l (Category)
17054 @findex gnus-category-list
17055 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17059 @node Category Variables
17060 @subsubsection Category Variables
17063 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17064 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17065 Hook run in category buffers.
17067 @item gnus-category-line-format
17068 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17069 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17070 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17074 The name of the category.
17077 The number of groups in the category.
17080 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17081 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17082 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17084 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17085 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17086 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17088 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17089 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17090 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17092 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17093 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17094 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17097 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17098 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17099 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17105 @node Agent Commands
17106 @subsection Agent Commands
17107 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17108 @kindex J j (Agent)
17110 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17111 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17112 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17116 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17117 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17118 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17124 @node Group Agent Commands
17125 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17129 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17130 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17131 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17132 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17135 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17136 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17137 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17140 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17141 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17142 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17143 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17146 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17147 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17148 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17149 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17152 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17153 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17154 Add the current group to an Agent category
17155 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17156 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17159 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17160 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17161 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17162 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17163 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17166 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17167 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17168 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17174 @node Summary Agent Commands
17175 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17179 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17180 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17181 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17184 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17185 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17186 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17187 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17191 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17192 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17193 Toggle whether to download the article
17194 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17198 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17199 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17200 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17203 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17204 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17205 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17206 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17209 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17210 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17211 Download all processable articles in this group.
17212 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17215 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17216 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17217 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17218 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17223 @node Server Agent Commands
17224 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17228 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17229 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17230 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17231 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17234 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17235 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17236 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17237 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17242 @node Agent as Cache
17243 @subsection Agent as Cache
17245 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17246 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17247 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17248 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17249 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17250 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17251 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17252 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17253 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17255 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17256 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17259 @subsection Agent Expiry
17261 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17262 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17263 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17264 @cindex Agent expiry
17265 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17268 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17269 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17270 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17271 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17272 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17273 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17275 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17276 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17277 synchronized with the group.
17279 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17280 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17281 expiry in different groups.
17284 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17290 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17291 method---it must always match all groups. Also, for a regexp to match,
17292 it must match from the beginning of the group's name.
17294 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17295 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17296 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17297 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17298 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17300 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17301 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17302 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17304 @node Agent Regeneration
17305 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17307 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17308 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17309 @cindex regeneration
17311 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17312 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17313 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17314 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17315 internal inconsistencies.
17317 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17318 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17319 know about articles downloaded prior to the connection failure.
17320 Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17321 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17322 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17324 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17325 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17326 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17327 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17328 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17329 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17331 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17332 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17333 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17334 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17335 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17336 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17339 @node Agent and IMAP
17340 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17342 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17343 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17344 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17345 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17347 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17348 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17349 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17350 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17352 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17353 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17354 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17355 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17357 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17358 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17359 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17360 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17361 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17362 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17364 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17365 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17366 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17367 in the group buffer.
17369 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17370 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17375 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17378 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17382 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17383 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17384 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17385 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17386 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17387 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17388 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17389 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17392 @node Outgoing Messages
17393 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17395 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17396 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17397 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17399 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17400 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17401 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17402 messages in the draft group.
17406 @node Agent Variables
17407 @subsection Agent Variables
17410 @item gnus-agent-directory
17411 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17412 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17413 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17415 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17416 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17417 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17418 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17419 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17422 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17423 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17424 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17426 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17427 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17428 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17430 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17431 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17432 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17434 @item gnus-agent-cache
17435 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17436 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17437 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17438 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17440 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17441 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17442 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17443 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17444 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17445 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17446 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17449 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17450 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17451 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17452 mark articles as unread after downloading. The default is t.
17454 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17455 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17456 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17457 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17458 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17460 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17461 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17462 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17463 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17464 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17465 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17466 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17467 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17468 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17469 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17470 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17471 available while unplugged).
17473 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17474 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17475 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17476 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17477 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17478 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17479 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17480 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17481 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17486 @node Example Setup
17487 @subsection Example Setup
17489 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17490 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17491 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17494 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17495 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17496 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17498 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17499 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17500 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17502 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17503 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17505 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17506 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17507 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17510 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17511 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17514 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17515 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17516 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17517 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17518 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17521 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17522 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17523 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17524 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17525 back all the killed groups.)
17527 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17528 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17529 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17532 @node Batching Agents
17533 @subsection Batching Agents
17534 @findex gnus-agent-batch
17536 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17537 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17538 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17540 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17541 following incantation:
17545 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17549 @node Agent Caveats
17550 @subsection Agent Caveats
17552 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17553 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17557 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17559 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17560 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17561 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17563 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17565 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17569 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17570 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
17571 locally stored articles.
17578 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17579 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17580 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17583 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17584 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17585 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17586 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17587 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17589 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17590 before generating the summary buffer.
17592 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17593 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17594 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17596 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17597 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17598 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17599 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17602 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17603 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17604 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17605 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17606 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17607 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17608 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17609 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17610 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17611 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17612 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17613 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17614 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17615 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17616 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17617 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17618 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17622 @node Summary Score Commands
17623 @section Summary Score Commands
17624 @cindex score commands
17626 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17627 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17628 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17629 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17630 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17632 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17633 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17634 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17635 score file the current one.
17637 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17642 @kindex V s (Summary)
17643 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17644 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17647 @kindex V S (Summary)
17648 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17649 Display the score of the current article
17650 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17653 @kindex V t (Summary)
17654 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17655 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17656 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17659 @kindex V w (Summary)
17660 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17661 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17664 @kindex V R (Summary)
17665 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17666 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17667 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17668 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17669 effect you're having.
17672 @kindex V c (Summary)
17673 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17674 Make a different score file the current
17675 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17678 @kindex V e (Summary)
17679 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17680 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17681 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17685 @kindex V f (Summary)
17686 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17687 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17688 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17691 @kindex V F (Summary)
17692 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17693 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17694 after editing score files.
17697 @kindex V C (Summary)
17698 @findex gnus-score-customize
17699 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17700 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17704 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17709 @kindex V m (Summary)
17710 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17711 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17712 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17715 @kindex V x (Summary)
17716 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17717 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17718 expunge all articles below this score
17719 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17722 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17723 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17726 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17727 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17731 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17732 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17734 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17735 keys are available:
17739 Score on the author name.
17742 Score on the subject line.
17745 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17748 Score on the @code{References} line.
17754 Score on the number of lines.
17757 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17760 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17761 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17764 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17765 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17766 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17775 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17781 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17782 what headers you are scoring on.
17794 Substring matching.
17797 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17826 Greater than number.
17831 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17832 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17833 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17838 Temporary score entry.
17841 Permanent score entry.
17844 Immediately scoring.
17848 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17849 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17850 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17854 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17855 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17856 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17857 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17859 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17860 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17861 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17862 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17863 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17865 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17866 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17867 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17868 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17869 current score file.
17871 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17872 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17873 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17876 @node Group Score Commands
17877 @section Group Score Commands
17878 @cindex group score commands
17880 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17885 @kindex W f (Group)
17886 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17887 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17888 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17889 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17893 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17895 @findex gnus-batch-score
17896 @cindex batch scoring
17898 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17902 @node Score Variables
17903 @section Score Variables
17904 @cindex score variables
17908 @item gnus-use-scoring
17909 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17910 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17911 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17913 @item gnus-kill-killed
17914 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17915 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17916 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17917 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17918 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17919 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17920 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17922 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17923 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17924 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17925 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17926 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17928 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17929 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17930 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17931 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17933 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17934 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17935 @cindex score cache
17936 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17937 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17938 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17939 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17940 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17941 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17944 @item gnus-save-score
17945 @vindex gnus-save-score
17946 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17947 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17948 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17950 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17951 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17952 across group visits.
17954 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17955 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17956 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17957 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17958 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17959 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17960 manually entered data.
17962 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17963 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17964 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17966 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17967 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17968 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17969 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17970 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17971 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17973 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17974 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17975 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17976 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17978 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17979 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17980 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17981 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17983 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17984 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17985 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17986 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17988 Predefined functions available are:
17991 @item gnus-score-find-single
17992 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17993 Only apply the group's own score file.
17995 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17996 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17997 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17998 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17999 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18000 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18001 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18002 then a regexp match is done.
18004 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18005 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18007 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18008 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18009 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18010 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18012 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18013 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18014 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18015 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18016 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18020 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18021 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18022 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18023 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18024 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18025 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18026 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18029 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18030 overall score file, you could use the value
18032 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18033 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18036 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18037 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18038 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18039 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18040 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18042 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18043 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18044 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18045 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18046 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18047 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18048 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18049 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18051 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18052 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18053 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18055 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18056 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18057 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18058 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18059 threading---according to the current value of
18060 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18061 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18062 simplified in this manner.
18067 @node Score File Format
18068 @section Score File Format
18069 @cindex score file format
18071 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18072 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18073 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18075 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18079 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18081 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18083 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18085 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18090 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18094 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18095 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18096 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18097 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18101 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18102 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18104 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18105 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18106 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18108 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18113 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18114 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18115 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18116 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18117 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18118 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18119 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18120 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18121 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18122 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18123 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18124 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18125 to articles that matches these score entries.
18127 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18128 score entry has one to four elements.
18132 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18133 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18137 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18138 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18139 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18140 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18141 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18142 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18145 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18146 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18147 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18148 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18149 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18152 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18153 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18154 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18155 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18158 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18159 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18160 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18161 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18162 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18163 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18164 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18165 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18166 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18167 instead, if you feel like.
18170 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18171 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18172 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18173 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18174 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18175 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18178 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18182 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18183 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18185 These predicates are true if
18188 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18191 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18192 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18199 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18200 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18201 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18202 it's not. I think.)
18204 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18205 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18206 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18207 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18210 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18211 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18212 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18213 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18214 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18215 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18216 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18220 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18221 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18222 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18223 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18224 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18225 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18226 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18227 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18230 @item Head, Body, All
18231 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18235 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18236 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18237 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18238 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18239 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18240 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18241 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18245 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18246 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18247 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18248 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18249 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18250 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18251 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18252 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18253 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18254 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18255 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18259 @cindex Score File Atoms
18261 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18262 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18265 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18266 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18268 @item mark-and-expunge
18269 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18270 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18273 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18274 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18275 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18276 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18277 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18280 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18281 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18284 @item exclude-files
18285 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18286 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18290 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18291 ignored when handling global score files.
18294 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18295 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18296 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18297 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18300 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18301 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18302 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18303 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18305 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18309 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18312 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18313 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18314 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18315 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18316 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18318 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18319 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18320 scoring rules exist.
18323 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18324 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18325 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18326 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18327 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18328 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18329 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18330 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18331 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18332 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18333 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18337 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18338 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18339 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18340 file for a number of groups.
18343 @cindex local variables
18344 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18345 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18346 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18347 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18348 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18352 @node Score File Editing
18353 @section Score File Editing
18355 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18356 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18357 with a mode for that.
18359 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18360 additional commands:
18365 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18366 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18367 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18368 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18371 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18372 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18373 Insert the current date in numerical format
18374 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18375 you were wondering.
18378 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18379 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18380 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18381 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18382 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18387 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18389 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18390 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18392 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18393 e} to begin editing score files.
18396 @node Adaptive Scoring
18397 @section Adaptive Scoring
18398 @cindex adaptive scoring
18400 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18401 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18402 stupidity, to be precise.
18404 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18405 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18406 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18407 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18408 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18409 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18410 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18411 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18412 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18414 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18415 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18416 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18417 might look something like this:
18420 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18421 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18422 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18423 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18424 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18425 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18426 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18427 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18428 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18429 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18430 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18431 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18434 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18435 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18436 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18437 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18438 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18439 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18442 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18443 will be applied to each article.
18445 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18446 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18447 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18448 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18450 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18451 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18452 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18453 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18455 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18456 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18457 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18458 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18460 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18461 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18462 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18463 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18464 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18465 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18467 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18468 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18469 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18471 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18472 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18473 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18475 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18476 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18477 let you use different rules in different groups.
18479 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18480 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18481 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18484 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18485 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18486 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18487 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18488 the length of the match is less than
18489 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18490 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18493 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18494 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18495 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18496 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18497 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18500 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18501 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18502 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18503 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18504 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18507 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18508 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18509 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18510 score with 30 points.
18512 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18513 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18514 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18515 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18516 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18518 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18519 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18520 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18521 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18522 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18524 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18525 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18526 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18527 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18529 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18530 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18531 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18532 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18534 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18535 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18536 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18537 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18538 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18540 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18541 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18542 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18544 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18545 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18546 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18547 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18550 @node Home Score File
18551 @section Home Score File
18553 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18554 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18555 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18556 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18558 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18559 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18560 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18562 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18563 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18568 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18572 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18573 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18577 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18581 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18582 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18585 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18586 the home score file.
18589 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18592 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18597 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18600 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18601 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18604 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18605 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18607 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18609 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18610 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18613 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18614 Other functions include
18617 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18618 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18619 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18620 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18624 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18625 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18626 their own home score files:
18629 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18630 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18631 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18632 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18633 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18636 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18637 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18638 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18639 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18640 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18642 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18643 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18644 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18645 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18646 precedence over this variable.
18649 @node Followups To Yourself
18650 @section Followups To Yourself
18652 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18653 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18654 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18655 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18656 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18657 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18661 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18662 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18663 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18666 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18667 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18668 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18672 @vindex message-sent-hook
18673 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18674 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18676 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18680 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18681 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18685 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18686 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18689 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18690 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18695 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18699 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18700 is system-dependent.
18703 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18704 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18705 @cindex scoring on other headers
18707 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18708 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18709 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18710 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18711 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18713 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18714 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18715 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18716 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18717 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18719 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18722 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18723 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18726 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18727 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18728 time if you have much mail.
18730 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18731 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18737 @section Scoring Tips
18738 @cindex scoring tips
18744 @cindex scoring crossposts
18745 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18746 the @code{Xref} header.
18748 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18751 @item Multiple crossposts
18752 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18753 more than, say, 3 groups:
18756 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18760 @item Matching on the body
18761 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18762 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18763 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18764 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18765 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18766 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18767 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18770 @item Marking as read
18771 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18772 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18773 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18777 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18779 @item Negated character classes
18780 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18781 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18782 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18786 @node Reverse Scoring
18787 @section Reverse Scoring
18788 @cindex reverse scoring
18790 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18791 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18792 like this in your score file:
18796 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18801 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18802 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18805 @node Global Score Files
18806 @section Global Score Files
18807 @cindex global score files
18809 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18810 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18811 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18813 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18814 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18815 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18817 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18818 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18819 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18820 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18821 files are applicable to which group.
18823 To use the score file
18824 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18825 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18829 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18830 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18831 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18834 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18836 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18837 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18838 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18839 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18841 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18842 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18844 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18845 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18846 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18847 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18848 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18849 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18851 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18857 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18859 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18861 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18863 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18864 lowered out of existence.
18866 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18867 articles completely.
18870 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18871 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18872 old articles for a long time.
18875 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18876 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18877 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18878 holding our breath yet?
18882 @section Kill Files
18885 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18886 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18887 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18889 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18890 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18891 files into score files.
18893 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18894 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18895 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18896 that isn't a very good idea.
18898 Normal kill files look like this:
18901 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18902 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18906 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18907 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18909 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18910 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18913 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18918 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18919 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18920 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18923 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18924 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18925 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18928 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18933 @kindex M-k (Group)
18934 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18935 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18938 @kindex M-K (Group)
18939 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18940 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18943 Kill file variables:
18946 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18947 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18948 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18949 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18950 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18951 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18952 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18954 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18955 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18956 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18957 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18960 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18961 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18962 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18963 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18964 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18965 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18966 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18967 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18968 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18970 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18971 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18972 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18977 @node Converting Kill Files
18978 @section Converting Kill Files
18980 @cindex converting kill files
18982 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18983 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18984 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18987 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18988 You can fetch it from
18989 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18991 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18992 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18993 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19001 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19002 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19003 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19004 news articles generated every day.
19006 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19007 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19008 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19009 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19010 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19011 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19012 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19013 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19016 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19017 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19020 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19021 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19022 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19023 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19027 @node Using GroupLens
19028 @subsection Using GroupLens
19030 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19032 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19033 better bit in town at the moment.
19035 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19039 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19040 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19041 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19042 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19044 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19045 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19046 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19047 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19049 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19050 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19051 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19055 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19056 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19057 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19058 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19059 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19060 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19063 @node Rating Articles
19064 @subsection Rating Articles
19066 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19067 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19068 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19069 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19072 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19077 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19078 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19079 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19082 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19083 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19084 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19085 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19086 threads in rec.humor.
19090 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19091 the score of the article you're reading.
19096 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19097 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19098 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19101 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19102 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19103 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19107 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19108 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19111 @node Displaying Predictions
19112 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19114 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19115 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19116 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19117 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19118 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19120 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19121 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19122 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19123 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19124 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19125 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19126 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19127 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19128 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19129 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19130 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19131 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19132 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19134 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19135 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19136 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19137 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19139 The following are valid values for that variable.
19142 @item prediction-spot
19143 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19146 @item confidence-interval
19147 A numeric confidence interval.
19149 @item prediction-bar
19150 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19152 @item confidence-bar
19153 Numerical confidence.
19155 @item confidence-spot
19156 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19158 @item prediction-num
19159 Plain-old numeric value.
19161 @item confidence-plus-minus
19162 Prediction +/- confidence.
19167 @node GroupLens Variables
19168 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19172 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19173 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19174 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19175 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19178 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19179 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19182 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19183 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19185 @item grouplens-score-offset
19186 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19187 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19190 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19191 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19192 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19197 @node Advanced Scoring
19198 @section Advanced Scoring
19200 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19201 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19202 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19203 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19204 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19206 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19210 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19211 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19212 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19216 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19217 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19219 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19220 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19221 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19222 non-@code{nil} value.
19224 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19225 operator, and various match operators.
19232 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19233 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19234 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19239 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19240 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19241 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19246 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19247 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19251 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19252 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19253 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19254 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19255 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19256 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19257 the ancestry you want to go.
19259 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19260 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19261 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19262 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19263 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19266 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19267 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19269 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19270 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19273 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19274 when he's talking about Gnus:
19278 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19279 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19285 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19289 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19296 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19297 really don't want to read what he's written:
19301 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19302 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19306 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19307 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19308 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19315 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19316 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19317 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19318 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19322 The possibilities are endless.
19325 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19326 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19328 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19329 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19330 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19331 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19332 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19333 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19334 @samp{subject}) first.
19336 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19337 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19348 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19349 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19355 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19362 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19363 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19368 @section Score Decays
19369 @cindex score decays
19372 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19373 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19374 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19375 use them in any sensible way.
19377 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19378 @findex gnus-decay-score
19379 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19380 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19381 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19382 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19383 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19384 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19385 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19386 definition of that function:
19389 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19391 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19392 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19395 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19397 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19399 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19402 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19403 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19404 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19405 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19409 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19412 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19415 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19419 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19420 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19421 the new score, which should be an integer.
19423 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19424 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19429 @include message.texi
19430 @chapter Emacs MIME
19431 @include emacs-mime.texi
19433 @include sieve.texi
19443 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19444 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19445 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19446 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19447 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19448 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19449 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19450 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19451 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19452 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19453 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19454 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19455 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19456 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19457 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19458 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19459 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19460 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19461 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19465 @node Process/Prefix
19466 @section Process/Prefix
19467 @cindex process/prefix convention
19469 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19470 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19472 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19473 command to be performed on.
19477 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19478 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19479 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19480 with the current one.
19482 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19483 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19484 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19486 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19487 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19490 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19491 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19493 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19496 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19497 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19498 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19499 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19501 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19502 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19503 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19504 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19505 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19506 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19507 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19508 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19510 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19511 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19512 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19513 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19514 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19518 @section Interactive
19519 @cindex interaction
19523 @item gnus-novice-user
19524 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19525 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19526 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19527 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19528 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19531 @item gnus-expert-user
19532 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19533 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19534 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19535 matter how strange.
19537 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19538 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19539 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19540 is @code{t} by default.
19542 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19543 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19544 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19549 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19550 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19551 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19553 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19554 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19555 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19556 rule of 900 to the current article.
19558 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19559 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19560 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19561 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19562 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19563 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19564 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19566 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19567 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19568 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19569 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19570 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19571 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19572 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19573 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19574 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19576 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19577 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19578 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19580 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19584 @node Formatting Variables
19585 @section Formatting Variables
19586 @cindex formatting variables
19588 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19589 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19590 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19591 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19592 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19595 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19596 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19597 lots of percentages everywhere.
19600 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19601 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19602 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19603 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19604 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19605 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19606 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19607 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19610 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19611 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19612 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19613 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19614 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19615 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19616 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19617 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19619 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19620 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19622 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19623 @findex gnus-update-format
19624 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19625 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19626 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19627 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19631 @node Formatting Basics
19632 @subsection Formatting Basics
19634 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19635 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19636 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19638 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19639 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19640 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19641 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19642 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19645 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19646 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19647 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19648 less than 4 characters wide.
19650 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19651 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19654 @node Mode Line Formatting
19655 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19657 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19658 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19659 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19660 with the following two differences:
19665 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19668 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19669 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19670 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19671 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19672 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19673 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19674 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19679 @node Advanced Formatting
19680 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19682 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19683 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19684 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19685 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19687 These are the valid modifiers:
19692 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19696 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19701 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19704 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19709 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19712 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19715 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19718 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19724 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19729 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19730 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19731 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19732 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19733 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19734 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19735 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19737 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19738 last operation, padding.
19740 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19741 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19742 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19743 @xref{Compilation}.
19746 @node User-Defined Specs
19747 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19749 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19750 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19751 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19752 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19753 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19754 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19755 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19756 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19757 should protect against that.
19759 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19760 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19762 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19763 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19764 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19765 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19769 @node Formatting Fonts
19770 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19772 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19773 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19774 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19775 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19778 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19779 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19780 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19781 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19782 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19783 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19785 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19786 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19787 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19788 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19789 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19790 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19791 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19792 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19793 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19794 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19796 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19799 ;; Create three face types.
19800 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19801 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19803 ;; We want the article count to be in
19804 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19805 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19806 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19808 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19809 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19811 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19812 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19813 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19816 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19817 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19819 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19820 mode-line variables.
19822 @node Positioning Point
19823 @subsection Positioning Point
19825 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19826 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19827 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19829 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19831 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19832 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19833 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19835 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19836 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19837 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19842 @subsection Tabulation
19844 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19845 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19846 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19847 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19849 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19850 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19852 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19853 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19854 This is the soft tabulator.
19856 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19857 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19858 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19861 @node Wide Characters
19862 @subsection Wide Characters
19864 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19865 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19866 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19868 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19869 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19870 these countries, that's not true.
19872 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19873 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19874 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19875 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19879 @node Window Layout
19880 @section Window Layout
19881 @cindex window layout
19883 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19885 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19886 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19887 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19888 @code{t} by default.
19890 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19891 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19893 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19894 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19895 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19898 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19899 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19900 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19904 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19905 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19906 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19907 possible names is listed below.
19909 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19910 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19913 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19917 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19918 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19919 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19920 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19921 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19922 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19923 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19924 size spec per split.
19926 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19927 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19928 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19929 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19930 present) gets focus.
19932 Here's a more complicated example:
19935 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19936 (summary 0.25 point)
19937 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19941 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19942 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19943 occupy, not a percentage.
19945 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19946 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19947 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19948 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19949 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19952 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19955 (article (horizontal 1.0
19960 (summary 0.25 point)
19965 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19966 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19968 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19969 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19970 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19971 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19972 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19974 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19975 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19976 lines from the splits.
19978 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19982 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19983 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19984 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19985 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19986 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19987 size = number | frame-params
19988 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19991 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19992 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19993 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19994 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19996 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19997 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19998 @cindex window height
19999 @cindex window width
20000 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20001 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20002 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20003 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20004 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20005 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20007 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20008 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20009 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20010 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20012 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20013 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20014 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20015 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20016 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20017 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20018 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20019 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20020 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20021 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20022 configuration list.
20025 (gnus-configure-frame
20029 (article 0.3 point))
20037 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20038 @code{frame} split:
20041 (gnus-configure-frame
20044 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20046 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20047 (user-position . t)
20048 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20053 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20054 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20055 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20056 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20057 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20058 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20059 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20060 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20062 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20063 be found in its default value.
20065 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20066 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20067 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20071 (message (horizontal 1.0
20072 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20074 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20079 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20080 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20081 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20086 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20087 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20088 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20089 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20090 (name . "Message"))
20091 (message 1.0 point))))
20094 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20095 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20096 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20097 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20098 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20101 (gnus-add-configuration
20102 '(article (vertical 1.0
20104 (summary .25 point)
20108 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20109 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20110 Gnus has been loaded.
20112 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20113 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20114 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20115 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20116 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20118 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20119 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20120 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20123 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20127 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20128 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20143 (gnus-add-configuration
20146 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20148 (summary 0.16 point)
20151 (gnus-add-configuration
20154 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20155 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20161 @node Faces and Fonts
20162 @section Faces and Fonts
20167 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20168 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20169 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20174 @section Compilation
20175 @cindex compilation
20176 @cindex byte-compilation
20178 @findex gnus-compile
20180 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20181 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20182 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20183 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20184 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20185 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20188 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20189 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20190 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20191 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20192 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20193 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20194 them into the @file{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20198 @section Mode Lines
20201 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20202 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20203 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20204 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20205 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20206 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20207 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20210 @cindex display-time
20212 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20213 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20214 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20215 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20216 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20217 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20218 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20219 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20222 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20224 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20225 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20227 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20228 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20229 (length display-time-string)))))
20232 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20233 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20234 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20235 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20236 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20239 @node Highlighting and Menus
20240 @section Highlighting and Menus
20242 @cindex highlighting
20245 @vindex gnus-visual
20246 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20247 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20248 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20251 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20252 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20255 @item group-highlight
20256 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20257 @item summary-highlight
20258 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20259 @item article-highlight
20260 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20262 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20264 Create menus in the group buffer.
20266 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20268 Create menus in the article buffer.
20270 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20272 Create menus in the server buffer.
20274 Create menus in the score buffers.
20276 Create menus in all buffers.
20279 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20280 buffers, you could say something like:
20283 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20286 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20289 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20292 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20293 in all Gnus buffers.
20295 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20298 @item gnus-mouse-face
20299 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20300 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20301 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20305 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20309 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20310 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20311 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20313 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20314 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20315 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20317 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20318 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20319 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20321 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20322 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20323 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20325 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20326 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20327 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20329 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20330 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20331 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20342 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20343 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20344 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20345 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20346 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20350 @vindex gnus-carpal
20351 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20352 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20353 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20358 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20359 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20360 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20362 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20363 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20364 Face used on buttons.
20366 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20367 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20368 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20370 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20371 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20372 Buttons in the group buffer.
20374 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20375 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20376 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20378 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20379 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20380 Buttons in the server buffer.
20382 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20383 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20384 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20387 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20388 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20389 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20397 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20398 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20399 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20400 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20401 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20403 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20404 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20405 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20407 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20408 been idle for thirty minutes:
20411 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20414 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20418 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20421 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20422 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20423 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20425 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20426 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20427 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20428 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20430 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20431 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20432 @var{idle} minutes.
20434 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20435 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20438 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20439 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20440 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20442 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20443 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20444 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20445 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20447 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20448 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20450 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20452 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20455 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20456 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20457 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20458 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20459 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20460 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20461 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20462 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20463 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20464 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20465 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20467 @findex gnus-demon-init
20468 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20469 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20470 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20471 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20472 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20474 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20475 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20476 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20485 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20486 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20488 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20489 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20490 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20491 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20494 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20495 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20496 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20497 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20499 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20500 this will make spam disappear.
20502 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20505 @item gnus-use-nocem
20506 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20507 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20510 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20511 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20512 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20513 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20514 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20516 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20517 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20518 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20519 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20520 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20521 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20523 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20524 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20526 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20527 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20528 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20529 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20530 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20531 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20532 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20533 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20534 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20535 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20537 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20538 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20541 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20544 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20545 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20548 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20551 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20554 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20555 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20557 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20558 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20559 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20560 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20562 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20563 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20566 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20568 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20576 This might be dangerous, though.
20578 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20579 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20580 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20581 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20583 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20584 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20585 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20586 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20587 might then see old spam.
20589 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20590 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20591 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20592 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20593 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20596 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20597 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20598 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20599 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20603 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20604 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20605 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20606 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20613 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20614 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20615 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20617 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20618 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20619 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20620 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20621 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20622 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20623 @code{undo} function.
20625 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20626 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20627 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20628 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20629 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20630 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20631 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20632 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20633 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20634 never be totally undoable.
20636 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20637 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20639 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20640 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20641 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20642 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20646 @node Predicate Specifiers
20647 @section Predicate Specifiers
20648 @cindex predicate specifiers
20650 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20651 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20652 to type all that much.
20654 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20659 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20660 gnus-article-unread-p)
20663 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20664 functions all take one parameter.
20666 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20667 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20668 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20669 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20674 @section Moderation
20677 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20678 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20679 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20682 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20686 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20689 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20691 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20696 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20697 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20698 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20701 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20702 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20705 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20706 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20710 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20713 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20714 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20718 @node Image Enhancements
20719 @section Image Enhancements
20721 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20722 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20725 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20726 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20727 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20728 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20741 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20742 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20743 over your shoulder as you read news.
20745 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20754 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20755 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20756 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20757 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20758 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20759 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20760 @code{GIF} formats.
20763 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20764 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
20765 point your Web browser at
20766 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
20768 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20769 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20771 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
20772 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
20775 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
20779 @item gnus-picon-databases
20780 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20781 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
20782 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20783 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
20784 "/usr/local/faces")}.
20786 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
20787 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
20788 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20789 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20791 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
20792 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
20793 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
20794 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
20796 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
20797 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
20798 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20799 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20800 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20802 @item gnus-picon-file-types
20803 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
20804 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20805 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
20810 @subsection Smileys
20815 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20820 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20821 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20823 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20824 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20827 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20830 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
20831 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20832 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20833 text and maps that to file names.
20835 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
20836 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
20837 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
20838 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
20839 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
20842 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20847 @item smiley-data-directory
20848 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20849 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20851 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
20852 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
20853 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
20862 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20863 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20864 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20868 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20869 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20870 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20871 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20879 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20880 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20881 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20882 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20884 The variable that controls this is the
20885 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20886 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20887 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20888 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20889 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20891 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20892 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20893 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20894 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20897 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20898 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20899 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20900 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20901 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20902 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20903 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20904 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20906 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20909 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20910 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20912 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20913 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
20914 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
20915 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
20916 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20917 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20918 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20919 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
20920 header data as a string.
20922 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
20923 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
20924 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
20925 randomly generated data.
20927 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
20928 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
20929 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20930 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20931 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20933 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
20934 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20937 (setq message-required-news-headers
20938 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20939 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20942 Using the last function would be something like this:
20945 (setq message-required-news-headers
20946 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20947 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20948 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20949 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20954 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20957 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20958 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20959 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20960 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20961 unusual directory structure.
20963 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20964 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20965 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20966 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20968 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20969 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20970 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20971 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20972 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20973 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20975 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20976 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20977 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20982 @subsubsection Toolbar
20986 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20987 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20988 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20989 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20990 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20992 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20993 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20994 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20996 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20997 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20998 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21000 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21001 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21002 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21013 @node Fuzzy Matching
21014 @section Fuzzy Matching
21015 @cindex fuzzy matching
21017 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21018 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21020 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21021 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21022 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21024 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21025 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21026 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21027 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21028 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21031 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21032 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21036 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21038 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21039 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21040 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21041 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21042 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21043 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21044 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21045 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21048 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21049 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21050 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21051 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21052 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21053 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21055 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21058 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21059 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21060 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21061 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21062 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21063 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21066 @node The problem of spam
21067 @subsection The problem of spam
21069 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21070 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21072 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21074 First, some background on spam.
21076 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21077 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21078 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21079 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21080 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21081 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21082 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21083 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21085 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21086 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21087 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21088 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21089 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21090 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21091 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21092 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21093 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21096 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21097 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21098 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21099 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21100 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21101 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21102 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21103 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21104 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21105 mail can be useful.
21107 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21108 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21109 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21110 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21111 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21112 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21113 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21114 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21115 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21117 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21118 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21119 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21120 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21121 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21122 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21123 because of the incident.
21125 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21126 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21127 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21128 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21129 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21130 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21131 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21132 to store the database of spam analyses.
21134 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21135 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21139 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21141 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21142 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21144 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21145 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21146 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21147 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21148 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21149 part of the mail address.)
21152 (setq message-default-news-headers
21153 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21156 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21157 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21162 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21163 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21164 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21170 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21171 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21172 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21173 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21175 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21176 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21177 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21178 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21179 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21180 your fancy split rule in this way:
21185 (to "larsi" "misc")
21189 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21190 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21191 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21192 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21193 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21195 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21196 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21197 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21198 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21199 cosmic balance somewhat.
21201 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21202 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21203 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21204 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21209 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21210 @cindex SpamAssassin
21211 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21214 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21215 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21216 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21217 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21218 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21219 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21220 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21222 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21223 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21224 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21225 Specifiers}) follows.
21229 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21232 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21235 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21236 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21237 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21240 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21244 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21247 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21248 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21252 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21253 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21254 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21255 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21258 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21260 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21262 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21263 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21265 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21267 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21268 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21272 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21273 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21274 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21277 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21278 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21280 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21281 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21282 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21286 @subsection Hashcash
21289 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21290 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21291 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21292 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21293 in smaller communities.
21295 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21296 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21297 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21298 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21299 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21300 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21301 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21302 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21303 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21304 one of them separately.
21307 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21308 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21309 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21310 header. For more details, and for the external application
21311 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21312 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21313 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21315 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21319 (require 'hashcash)
21320 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21323 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21324 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21325 development contrib directory.
21327 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21331 @item hashcash-default-payment
21332 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21333 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21334 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21335 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21337 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21338 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21339 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21340 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21341 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21342 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21343 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21344 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21348 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21352 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21353 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21354 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21355 a useful contribution, however.
21357 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21358 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21359 @cindex spam filtering
21362 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21363 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21364 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21365 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21368 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21369 the following keyboard commands:
21379 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21380 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21382 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
21383 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21384 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21385 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21391 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21392 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21394 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21400 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21401 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21404 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21405 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21406 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21407 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21408 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21409 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21410 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21411 will be detected later.
21413 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21414 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21415 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21416 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21417 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21418 by customizing the corresponding variable
21419 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21420 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21421 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21422 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21423 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21424 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21425 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21428 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21429 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21430 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
21431 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
21432 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21433 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21434 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21435 will study them as spam samples.
21437 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21438 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21439 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21440 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21441 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21442 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21443 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21444 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21446 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21447 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21448 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21449 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21452 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21453 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21454 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21457 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21458 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21459 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21460 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21461 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21462 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
21465 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21466 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21467 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21468 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21469 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21470 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21471 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21472 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21473 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21474 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21475 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21477 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21478 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21480 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21481 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21482 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21483 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21484 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21485 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21486 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21487 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21488 the spam articles are only expired.
21490 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21491 must add the following to your fancy split list
21492 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21498 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21499 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21500 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21502 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21503 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21504 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21505 but you can customize it.
21507 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21509 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21510 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21511 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21512 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21513 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21514 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21515 because it will slow IMAP down.
21517 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21519 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21520 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21521 longer spam or ham.}
21523 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21524 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21527 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21528 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21531 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21532 * BBDB Whitelists::
21534 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
21536 * ifile spam filtering::
21537 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21538 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21541 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21542 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21543 @cindex spam filtering
21544 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21545 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21548 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21549 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21550 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21551 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21552 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21556 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21557 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21558 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21559 whitelist will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an
21560 implicit filter, meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless
21561 told otherwise. Use with care.
21564 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21565 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21566 customizing the group parameters or the
21567 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21568 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21569 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21572 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21573 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21574 customizing the group parameters or the
21575 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21576 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21577 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21578 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21579 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21582 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21583 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21584 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21585 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21586 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21588 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21589 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21590 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21591 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21592 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21595 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21596 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21597 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21598 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21599 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21600 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21602 @node BBDB Whitelists
21603 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21604 @cindex spam filtering
21605 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21606 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21609 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21611 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21612 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21613 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21614 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21615 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21619 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21620 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21621 customizing the group parameters or the
21622 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21623 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21624 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21625 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21626 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21630 @subsubsection Blackholes
21631 @cindex spam filtering
21632 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21635 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21637 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21638 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21639 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21640 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21641 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21642 contains outdated servers.
21644 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21645 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21646 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21647 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21648 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21649 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21653 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21655 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21659 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
21661 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
21662 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
21666 @defvar spam-use-dig
21668 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21669 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21673 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21674 ham processor for blackholes.
21676 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
21677 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
21678 @cindex spam filtering
21679 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
21682 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
21684 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
21685 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
21686 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
21687 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
21688 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
21689 message is spam or ham, respectively.
21693 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
21695 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21696 the message, positively identify it as spam.
21700 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
21702 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21703 the message, positively identify it as ham.
21707 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
21708 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
21711 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21712 @cindex spam filtering
21713 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21716 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21718 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21721 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
21722 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21723 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21724 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21725 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21726 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21728 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21729 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21732 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21733 processing will be turned off.
21735 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21739 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21741 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21742 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21743 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21744 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21745 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21746 installation documents for details.
21748 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21752 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21753 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21754 customizing the group parameters or the
21755 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21756 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21757 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21760 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21761 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21762 customizing the group parameters or the
21763 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21764 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21765 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21766 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21767 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21770 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21772 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21773 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21774 database directory.
21778 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21779 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21780 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21781 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21782 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21783 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21785 @node ifile spam filtering
21786 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21787 @cindex spam filtering
21788 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21791 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21793 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21794 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21798 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21800 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21801 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21802 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21806 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21808 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21809 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21810 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21813 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21815 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21816 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21820 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21821 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21822 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21823 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21826 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21827 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21828 @cindex spam filtering
21829 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21833 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21835 @defvar spam-use-stat
21837 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21838 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21842 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21843 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21844 customizing the group parameters or the
21845 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21846 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21847 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21850 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21851 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21852 customizing the group parameters or the
21853 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21854 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21855 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21856 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21857 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21860 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21861 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21862 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21863 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21866 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21867 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21868 @cindex spam filtering
21869 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21870 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21872 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21873 incoming mail, provide the following:
21881 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21882 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21887 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21889 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21894 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21895 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21896 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21899 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21906 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21907 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21910 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21911 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21912 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21914 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21915 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21916 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
21924 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
21925 (spam-generic-register-routine
21926 ;; the spam function
21928 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21929 (when (stringp from)
21930 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
21931 ;; the ham function
21934 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
21935 (spam-generic-register-routine
21936 ;; the spam function
21938 ;; the ham function
21940 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21941 (when (stringp from)
21942 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
21945 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
21946 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
21947 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
21948 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
21949 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
21950 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
21955 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21956 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
21957 @cindex Paul Graham
21958 @cindex Graham, Paul
21959 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21960 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21961 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21963 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21964 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21965 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21966 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21967 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21968 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21969 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21970 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21971 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21974 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21975 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21976 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21977 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21978 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21979 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21980 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21981 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21983 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21984 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21985 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21986 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21987 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21990 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21991 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21992 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21995 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21996 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21998 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21999 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22000 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22001 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22002 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22004 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22005 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22006 per mail. Use the following:
22008 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22009 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22010 is treated as one spam mail.
22013 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22014 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22015 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22018 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22019 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22020 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22021 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22022 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22023 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22025 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22026 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22027 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22028 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22029 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22032 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22033 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22034 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22035 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22038 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22039 reset the dictionary.
22041 @defun spam-stat-reset
22042 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22045 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22046 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22047 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22048 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22049 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22050 only non-spam mails.
22052 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22053 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22054 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22057 @defun spam-stat-save
22058 Save the dictionary.
22061 @defvar spam-stat-file
22062 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22063 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22066 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22067 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22069 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22070 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22073 (require 'spam-stat)
22077 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22080 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22081 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22082 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22083 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22085 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22086 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22087 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22088 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22091 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22092 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22096 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22097 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22100 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22101 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22102 expression are considered potential spam.
22105 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22106 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22107 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22111 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22112 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22113 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22114 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22115 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22118 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22119 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22120 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22124 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22125 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22126 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22127 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22128 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22132 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22133 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22134 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22135 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22140 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22141 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22143 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22145 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22146 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22147 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22150 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22151 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22152 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22155 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22156 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22157 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22158 already been processed as non-spam.
22161 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22162 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22163 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22164 been processed as spam.
22167 @defun spam-stat-save
22168 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22169 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22172 @defun spam-stat-load
22173 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22174 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22177 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22178 Return the spam score for a word.
22181 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22182 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22185 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22186 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22187 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22190 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22191 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22194 (require 'spam-stat)
22198 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22201 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22202 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22203 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22204 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22205 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22206 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22207 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22208 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22209 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22210 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22211 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22212 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22213 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22214 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22217 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22220 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22221 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22222 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22223 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22224 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22225 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22228 @node Various Various
22229 @section Various Various
22235 @item gnus-home-directory
22236 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22237 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22238 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22240 @item gnus-directory
22241 @vindex gnus-directory
22242 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22243 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22244 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22246 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22247 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22248 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22249 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22251 @item gnus-default-directory
22252 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22253 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22254 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22255 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22256 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22257 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22258 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22261 @vindex gnus-verbose
22262 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22263 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22264 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22265 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22266 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22268 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22269 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22270 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22271 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22273 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22274 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22275 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22276 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22277 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22278 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22279 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22280 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22281 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22282 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22284 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22285 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22286 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22287 read when doing the operation described above.
22289 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22290 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22292 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22293 @cindex characters in file names
22294 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22295 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22296 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22299 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22303 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22304 Windows (phooey) systems.
22306 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22307 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22308 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22309 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22310 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22312 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22313 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22314 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22315 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22316 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22318 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22319 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22320 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22322 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22323 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22325 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22326 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22327 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22328 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22331 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22339 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22340 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22342 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22344 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22350 Not because of victories @*
22353 but for the common sunshine,@*
22355 the largess of the spring.
22359 but for the day's work done@*
22360 as well as I was able;@*
22361 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22362 but at the common table.@*
22367 @chapter Appendices
22370 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22371 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22372 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22373 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22374 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22375 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22376 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22377 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22378 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22385 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22387 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22388 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22389 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22390 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22391 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22392 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22399 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22400 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22402 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22403 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22404 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22405 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22406 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22408 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22409 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22410 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22411 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22412 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22413 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22415 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22416 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22417 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22418 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22421 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22422 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22423 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22424 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22425 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22426 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22427 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22428 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22429 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22433 @node Gnus Versions
22434 @subsection Gnus Versions
22436 @cindex September Gnus
22438 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22439 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22443 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22444 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22445 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22447 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22448 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22450 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22451 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22453 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22454 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22456 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22457 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22460 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22462 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22463 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22464 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22465 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22466 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22467 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22470 @node Other Gnus Versions
22471 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22474 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22475 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22476 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22477 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22479 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22480 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22481 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22482 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22489 What's the point of Gnus?
22491 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22492 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22493 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22494 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22495 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22496 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22497 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22498 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22499 keep track of millions of people who post?
22501 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22502 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22503 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22504 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22505 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22506 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22507 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22508 every one of you to explore and invent.
22510 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22511 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22514 @node Compatibility
22515 @subsection Compatibility
22517 @cindex compatibility
22518 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22519 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22520 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22525 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22529 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22532 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22535 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22536 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22537 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22538 important variables have their values copied into their global
22539 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22540 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22542 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22543 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22544 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22545 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22546 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22550 @cindex highlighting
22551 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22552 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22553 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22554 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22555 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22556 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22559 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22560 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22561 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22562 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22564 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22565 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22566 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22567 to stop doing it the old way.
22569 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22571 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22573 @cindex reporting bugs
22575 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22576 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22577 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22579 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22580 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22581 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22582 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22587 @subsection Conformity
22589 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22590 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22598 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22602 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22604 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22605 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22606 We do have some breaches to this one.
22612 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22613 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22614 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22615 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22616 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22621 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22622 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22623 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22624 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22626 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22628 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22630 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22631 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22633 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22636 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22637 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22638 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22639 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22640 decoding (verification and decryption).
22642 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22643 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22644 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22645 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22647 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22648 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22650 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22651 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22652 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22653 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22654 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22655 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22656 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22660 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22661 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22666 @subsection Emacsen
22672 Gnus should work on :
22680 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
22684 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22685 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22688 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22689 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22690 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22694 @node Gnus Development
22695 @subsection Gnus Development
22697 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22698 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22699 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22700 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22701 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22702 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22703 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22704 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22706 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22707 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22708 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22709 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22710 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22713 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22714 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22715 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22716 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22717 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22719 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22720 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22721 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22722 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22723 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22724 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22725 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22726 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22727 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22728 can't be assumed to do so.
22733 @subsection Contributors
22734 @cindex contributors
22736 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22737 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22738 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22739 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22740 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22741 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22742 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22743 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22744 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22745 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22747 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22753 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22756 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22757 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22758 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22759 functionality and stuff.
22762 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22763 well as numerous other things).
22766 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22769 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22772 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22775 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22778 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22779 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22782 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22785 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22786 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22789 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22792 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22795 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22798 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22801 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22802 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22805 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22808 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22811 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22814 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22818 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22821 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22824 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22827 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22828 well as autoconf support.
22832 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22833 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22835 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22844 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22848 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22858 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22873 Massimo Campostrini,
22878 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22879 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22883 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22886 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22892 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22897 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22901 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22909 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22911 Michelangelo Grigni,
22915 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22917 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22919 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22926 François Felix Ingrand,
22927 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22928 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22930 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22941 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22942 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22944 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22945 Thor Kristoffersen,
22948 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22966 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22967 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22974 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22979 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22983 John McClary Prevost,
22989 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22994 Christian von Roques,
22997 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23004 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23006 Randal L. Schwartz,
23020 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23025 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23041 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23046 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23047 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23048 (550kB and counting).
23050 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23053 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23054 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23058 @subsection New Features
23059 @cindex new features
23062 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23063 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23064 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23065 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23066 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23069 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23070 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23071 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23074 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23076 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23081 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23082 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23085 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23086 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23089 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23092 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23093 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23094 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23097 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23098 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23099 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23100 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23103 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23104 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23107 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23108 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23109 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23112 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23113 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23116 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23117 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23118 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23121 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23122 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23123 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23126 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23127 the @file{.emacs} file.
23130 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23131 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23134 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23135 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23138 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23139 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23142 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23143 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23146 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23147 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23150 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23153 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23154 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23157 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23158 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23161 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23162 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23165 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23168 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23169 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23172 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23176 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23180 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23181 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23184 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23190 @node September Gnus
23191 @subsubsection September Gnus
23195 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23199 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23204 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23205 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23209 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23210 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23214 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23218 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23219 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23222 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23226 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23229 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23232 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23235 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23239 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23240 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23243 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23247 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23251 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23255 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23259 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23262 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23263 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23266 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23270 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23271 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23274 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23277 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23278 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23279 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23282 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23286 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23289 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23293 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23294 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23297 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23298 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23301 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23302 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23305 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23306 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23307 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23310 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23311 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23314 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23317 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23320 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23323 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23326 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23327 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23330 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23334 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23337 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23342 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23345 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23349 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23352 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23356 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23359 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23362 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23363 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23366 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23367 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23371 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23372 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23375 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23379 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23380 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23383 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23386 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23390 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23394 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23395 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23398 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23402 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23403 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23406 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23407 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23410 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23414 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23417 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23420 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23426 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23428 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23432 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23439 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23442 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23443 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23446 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23447 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23451 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23452 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23455 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23458 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23459 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23462 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23466 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23467 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23471 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23472 Server Internals}).
23475 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23479 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23482 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23483 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23486 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23487 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23488 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23491 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23492 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23495 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23496 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23499 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23503 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23504 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23507 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23508 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23511 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23515 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23518 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23522 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23523 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23526 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23527 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23530 A new command for reading collections of documents
23531 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23532 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23535 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23539 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23540 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23543 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23544 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23545 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23548 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23549 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23553 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23557 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23561 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23566 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23570 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23574 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23575 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23578 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23584 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23586 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23591 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23592 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23593 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23596 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23597 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23598 group, which is created automatically.
23601 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23605 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23608 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23609 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23612 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23616 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23619 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23620 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23623 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23626 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23627 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23630 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23631 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23634 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23635 control over simplification.
23638 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23641 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23645 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23648 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23651 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23652 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23653 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23656 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23657 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23660 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23664 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23665 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23668 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23669 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23672 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23676 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23679 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23682 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23683 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23686 A new function for citing in Message has been
23687 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23690 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23693 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23697 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23698 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23701 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23702 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23705 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23708 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23712 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23713 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23715 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23720 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23721 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23723 If you used procmail like in
23726 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23727 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23728 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23729 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23732 this now has changed to
23736 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23740 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23741 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23744 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23745 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23748 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23749 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23752 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23753 called to position point.
23756 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23757 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23760 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23761 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23764 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23765 subtly different manner.
23768 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23769 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23770 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23773 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23781 @section The Manual
23785 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23786 either @code{texi2dvi}
23788 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23789 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23791 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23793 The following conventions have been used:
23798 This is a @samp{string}
23801 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23804 This is a @file{file}
23807 This is a @code{symbol}
23811 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23815 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23818 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23821 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23824 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23825 ever get them confused.
23829 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23830 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23831 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23832 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23833 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23834 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23835 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23841 @node On Writing Manuals
23842 @section On Writing Manuals
23844 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23845 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23846 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23847 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23848 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23849 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23852 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23853 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23854 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23857 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23858 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23863 @section Terminology
23865 @cindex terminology
23870 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23871 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23872 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23873 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23874 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23878 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23879 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23880 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23881 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23885 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23889 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23894 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23895 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23896 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23897 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23898 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23899 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23900 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23901 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23902 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23904 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23905 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23906 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23907 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23908 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23911 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23912 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23913 access the articles.
23915 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23916 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23917 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23922 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23923 default, way of getting news.
23927 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23928 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23933 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23934 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23938 A message that has been posted as news.
23941 @cindex mail message
23942 A message that has been mailed.
23946 A mail message or news article
23950 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23955 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23960 A line from the head of an article.
23964 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23965 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23969 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23970 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23971 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23972 normal @sc{head} format.
23976 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23977 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23978 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23979 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23980 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23981 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23983 @item killed groups
23984 @cindex killed groups
23985 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23986 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23988 @item zombie groups
23989 @cindex zombie groups
23990 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23993 @cindex active file
23994 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23995 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23996 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23999 @cindex bogus groups
24000 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24001 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24002 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24005 @cindex activating groups
24006 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24007 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24008 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24012 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24014 @item select method
24015 @cindex select method
24016 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24019 @item virtual server
24020 @cindex virtual server
24021 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24022 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24023 whole is a virtual server.
24027 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24028 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24031 @item ephemeral groups
24032 @cindex ephemeral groups
24033 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24034 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24035 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24038 @cindex solid groups
24039 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24040 group buffer are solid groups.
24042 @item sparse articles
24043 @cindex sparse articles
24044 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24045 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24049 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24050 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24054 @cindex thread root
24055 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24056 articles in the thread.
24060 An article that has responses.
24064 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24068 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24069 specified by RFC 1153.
24075 @node Customization
24076 @section Customization
24077 @cindex general customization
24079 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24080 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24081 for some quite common situations.
24084 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24085 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24086 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24087 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24091 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24092 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24094 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24095 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24096 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24100 @item gnus-read-active-file
24101 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24102 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24103 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24104 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24105 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24107 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24108 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24109 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24110 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24114 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24115 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24117 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24118 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24119 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24123 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24124 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24125 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24126 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24127 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24129 @item gnus-visible-headers
24130 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24131 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24132 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24133 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24135 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24137 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24138 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24139 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24142 @item gnus-use-full-window
24143 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24144 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24145 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24146 want to read them anyway.
24148 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24149 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24153 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24154 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24155 lines, which might save some time.
24159 @node Little Disk Space
24160 @subsection Little Disk Space
24163 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24164 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24168 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24169 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24170 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24171 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24174 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24175 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24176 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24177 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24180 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24181 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24182 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24183 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24184 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24190 @subsection Slow Machine
24191 @cindex slow machine
24193 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24194 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24196 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24197 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24199 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24200 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24201 summary buffer faster.
24205 @node Troubleshooting
24206 @section Troubleshooting
24207 @cindex troubleshooting
24209 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24217 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24220 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24221 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24225 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24226 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
24227 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
24228 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24231 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24235 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24236 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24237 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24238 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24239 something like that.
24242 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24245 @cindex reporting bugs
24247 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24249 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24250 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24251 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24252 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24254 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24255 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24256 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24257 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24260 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24261 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24262 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24263 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24264 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24265 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24267 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24268 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24269 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24273 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24274 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24277 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24278 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24279 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24280 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24281 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24282 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24283 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24284 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24285 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24286 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24287 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24288 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24289 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24290 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24295 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24296 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24297 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24298 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24299 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24300 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24301 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24302 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24303 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24304 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24305 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24306 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24307 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24308 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24309 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24310 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24311 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24312 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24314 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24315 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24317 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24318 @cindex ding mailing list
24319 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24320 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24324 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24325 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24327 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24328 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24329 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24330 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24333 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24334 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24335 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24336 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24337 and general methods of operation.
24340 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24341 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24342 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24343 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24344 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24345 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24346 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24347 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24348 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24352 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24353 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24354 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24355 @cindex utility functions
24357 @cindex internal variables
24359 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24360 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24361 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24365 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24366 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24367 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24369 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24370 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24371 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24373 @item gnus-group-real-name
24374 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24375 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24378 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24379 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24380 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24381 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24383 @item gnus-get-info
24384 @findex gnus-get-info
24385 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24387 @item gnus-group-unread
24388 @findex gnus-group-unread
24389 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24393 @findex gnus-active
24394 The active entry for @var{group}.
24396 @item gnus-set-active
24397 @findex gnus-set-active
24398 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24400 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24401 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24402 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24405 @item gnus-continuum-version
24406 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24407 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24408 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24411 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24412 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24413 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24415 @item gnus-news-group-p
24416 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24417 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24419 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24420 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24421 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24423 @item gnus-server-to-method
24424 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24425 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24427 @item gnus-server-equal
24428 @findex gnus-server-equal
24429 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24431 @item gnus-group-native-p
24432 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24433 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24435 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24436 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24437 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24439 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24440 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24441 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24443 @item group-group-find-parameter
24444 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24445 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24446 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24448 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24449 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24450 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24452 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24453 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24454 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24456 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24457 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24458 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24459 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24462 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24466 @item gnus-read-method
24467 @findex gnus-read-method
24468 Prompts the user for a select method.
24473 @node Back End Interface
24474 @subsection Back End Interface
24476 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24477 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24478 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24479 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24480 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24481 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24483 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24484 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24485 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24486 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24487 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24488 been opened, the function should fail.
24490 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24491 name. Take this example:
24495 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24496 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24499 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24500 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24502 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24503 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24504 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24506 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24507 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24508 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24510 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24511 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24512 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24513 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24514 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24515 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24518 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24519 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24520 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24521 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24524 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24525 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24526 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24527 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24528 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24529 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24530 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24531 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24532 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24533 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24535 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24536 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24537 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24538 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24539 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24540 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24541 of numbers as long as possible.
24543 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24544 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24545 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24547 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24550 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24553 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24554 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24555 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24556 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24557 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24558 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24562 @node Required Back End Functions
24563 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24567 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24569 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24570 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24571 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24572 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24574 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24575 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24576 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24577 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24579 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24580 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24581 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24582 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24583 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24584 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24585 number, do maximum fetches.
24587 Here's an example HEAD:
24590 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24591 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24592 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24593 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24594 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24595 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24596 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24598 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24599 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24600 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24604 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24605 these in the data buffer.
24607 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24611 head = error / valid-head
24612 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24613 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24614 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24615 header = <text> eol
24618 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24619 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24623 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24624 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24625 field = <text except TAB>
24628 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24632 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24634 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24635 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24637 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24638 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24639 server. In fact, it should do so.
24641 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24642 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24645 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24647 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24648 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24651 There should be no data returned.
24654 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24656 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24657 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24658 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24659 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24661 There should be no data returned.
24664 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24666 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24667 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24668 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24669 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24671 There should be no data returned.
24674 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24676 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24678 There should be no data returned.
24681 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24683 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24684 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24685 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24686 it would be nice if that were possible.
24688 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24689 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24690 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24691 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24692 into its article buffer.
24694 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24695 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24696 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24697 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24698 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24699 on successful article retrieval.
24702 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24704 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24705 making @var{group} the current group.
24707 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24710 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24713 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24716 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24717 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24718 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24719 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24720 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24721 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24722 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24723 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24724 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24728 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24729 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24730 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24734 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24736 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24737 a no-op on most back ends.
24739 There should be no data returned.
24742 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24744 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24747 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24750 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24751 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24754 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24755 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24756 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24757 and the highest as 0.
24760 active-file = *active-line
24761 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24763 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24766 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24767 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24768 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24771 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24773 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24774 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24775 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24776 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24777 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24778 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24780 There should be no result data from this function.
24785 @node Optional Back End Functions
24786 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24790 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24792 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24793 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24794 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24796 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24797 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24798 former is in the same format as the data from
24799 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24800 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24803 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24807 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24809 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24810 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24811 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24812 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24813 should return a non-nil value.
24815 There should be no result data from this function.
24818 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24820 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24821 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24822 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24823 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24824 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24825 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24826 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24827 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24829 There should be no result data from this function.
24832 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24834 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24835 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24836 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24837 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24838 propagate the mark information to the server.
24840 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24843 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24846 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
24847 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
24848 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
24849 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
24850 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24851 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24852 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24853 possible, not limit itself to these.
24855 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24856 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24857 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24858 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24860 An example action list:
24863 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24864 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24865 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24868 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24869 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24871 There should be no result data from this function.
24873 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24875 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24876 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24877 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24878 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24879 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24881 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24882 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24883 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24886 There should be no result data from this function.
24889 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24891 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24892 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24893 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24894 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24895 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24896 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24897 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24899 There should be no result data from this function.
24902 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24904 The result data from this function should be a description of
24908 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24910 description = <text>
24913 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24915 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24916 groups available on the server.
24919 description-buffer = *description-line
24923 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24925 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24926 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24927 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24928 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24929 in the active buffer format.
24931 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24932 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24933 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24934 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24935 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24936 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24937 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24940 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24942 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24944 There should be no return data.
24947 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24949 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24950 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24951 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24952 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24953 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24956 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24959 There should be no result data returned.
24962 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24965 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24966 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24968 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24969 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24970 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24971 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24972 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24973 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24975 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24976 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24979 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24980 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24982 There should be no data returned.
24985 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24987 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24988 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24989 this function in short order.
24991 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24992 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24994 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
24995 article for that group.
24997 There should be no data returned.
25000 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25002 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25003 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25005 There should be no data returned.
25008 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25010 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25011 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25012 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25014 There should be no data returned.
25017 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25019 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25020 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25022 There should be no data returned.
25027 @node Error Messaging
25028 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25030 @findex nnheader-report
25031 @findex nnheader-get-report
25032 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25033 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25034 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25035 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25036 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25037 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25040 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25042 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25045 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25046 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25047 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25048 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25050 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25051 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25052 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25055 @node Writing New Back Ends
25056 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25058 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25059 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25060 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25061 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25062 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25065 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25066 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25067 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25069 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25070 package called @code{nnoo}.
25072 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25073 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25079 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25080 parameters. For instance:
25083 (nnoo-declare nndir
25087 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25088 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25091 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25092 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25093 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25095 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25096 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25097 a function in those back ends.
25100 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25101 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25102 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25105 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25106 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25107 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25109 @item nnoo-define-basics
25110 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25114 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25118 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25119 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25120 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25122 @item nnoo-map-functions
25123 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25124 functions from the parent back ends.
25127 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25128 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25129 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25132 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25133 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25134 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25135 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25138 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25139 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25140 haven't already been defined.
25146 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25150 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25151 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25152 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25157 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25160 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25161 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25165 (require 'nnheader)
25169 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25171 (nnoo-declare nndir
25174 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25175 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25176 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25178 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25179 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25182 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25184 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25185 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25186 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25188 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25189 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25191 ;;; Interface functions.
25193 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25195 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25196 (setq nndir-directory
25197 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25199 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25200 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25201 (push `(nndir-current-group
25202 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25203 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25205 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25206 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25208 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25210 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25211 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25212 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25213 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25214 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25218 nnmh-status-message
25220 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25226 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25227 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25229 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25230 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25231 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25232 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25233 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25235 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25236 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25241 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25244 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25246 The abilities can be:
25250 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25252 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25254 This back end supports both mail and news.
25256 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25259 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25260 articles and groups.
25262 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25263 true for almost all back ends.
25264 @item prompt-address
25265 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25266 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25267 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25271 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25272 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25274 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25275 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25276 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25277 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25280 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25281 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25282 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25285 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25286 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25289 This function takes four parameters.
25293 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25296 @item exit-function
25297 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25299 @item temp-directory
25300 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25303 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25304 performed for one group only.
25307 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25308 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25309 find the article number assigned to this article.
25311 The function also uses the following variables:
25312 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25313 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25314 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25315 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25319 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25320 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25324 @node Score File Syntax
25325 @subsection Score File Syntax
25327 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25328 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25329 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25331 Here's a typical score file:
25335 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25342 BNF definition of a score file:
25345 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25346 element = rule / atom
25347 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25348 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25349 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25350 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25352 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25353 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25354 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25355 date-header = "date"
25356 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25357 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25358 score = "nil" / <integer>
25359 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25360 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25361 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25362 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25363 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25364 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25365 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25366 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25367 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25368 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25369 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25370 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25371 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25372 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25373 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25374 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25375 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25376 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25377 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25378 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25379 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25380 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25381 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25382 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25383 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25384 eval = "eval" space <form>
25385 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25388 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25391 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25392 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25393 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25394 one looong line, then that's ok.
25396 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25397 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25401 @subsection Headers
25403 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25404 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25405 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25406 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25408 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25409 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25410 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25411 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25412 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25413 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25414 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25416 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25417 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25418 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25419 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25420 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25422 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25423 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25429 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25430 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25432 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25433 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25434 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25435 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25437 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25441 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25444 is transformed into
25447 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25450 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25451 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25454 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25457 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25458 is slightly tricky:
25461 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25467 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25470 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25476 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25483 and is equal to the previous range.
25485 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25486 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25487 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25491 range = simple-range / normal-range
25492 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25493 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25494 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25495 number *[ " " contents ]
25498 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25499 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25500 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25501 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25502 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25507 @subsection Group Info
25509 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25510 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25511 describes the group.
25513 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25514 second is a more complex one:
25517 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25519 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25520 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25522 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25525 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25526 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25527 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25528 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25529 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25530 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25531 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25532 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25533 this section is about.
25535 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25536 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25537 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25539 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25542 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25543 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25544 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25545 group = quote <string> quote
25546 ralevel = rank / level
25547 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25548 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25549 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25551 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25552 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25553 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25554 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25557 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25558 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25561 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25562 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25565 @item gnus-info-group
25566 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25567 @findex gnus-info-group
25568 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25569 Get/set the group name.
25571 @item gnus-info-rank
25572 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25573 @findex gnus-info-rank
25574 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25575 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25577 @item gnus-info-level
25578 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25579 @findex gnus-info-level
25580 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25581 Get/set the group level.
25583 @item gnus-info-score
25584 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25585 @findex gnus-info-score
25586 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25587 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25589 @item gnus-info-read
25590 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25591 @findex gnus-info-read
25592 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25593 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25595 @item gnus-info-marks
25596 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25597 @findex gnus-info-marks
25598 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25599 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25601 @item gnus-info-method
25602 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25603 @findex gnus-info-method
25604 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25605 Get/set the group select method.
25607 @item gnus-info-params
25608 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25609 @findex gnus-info-params
25610 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25611 Get/set the group parameters.
25614 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25615 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25617 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25618 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25619 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25620 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25623 @node Extended Interactive
25624 @subsection Extended Interactive
25625 @cindex interactive
25626 @findex gnus-interactive
25628 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25629 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25630 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25633 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25634 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25639 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25640 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25641 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25642 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25643 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25644 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25645 @code{interactive}.
25647 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25652 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25653 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25657 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25658 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25659 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25662 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25666 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25670 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25676 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25677 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25681 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25682 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25683 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25685 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25686 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25687 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25688 Gnus, that's very useful.
25690 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25691 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25692 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25693 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25694 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25695 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25696 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25697 following function:
25700 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25704 (,function ,@@args))
25708 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25709 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25710 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25713 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25714 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25715 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25717 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25718 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25719 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25722 @node Various File Formats
25723 @subsection Various File Formats
25726 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25727 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25731 @node Active File Format
25732 @subsubsection Active File Format
25734 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25735 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25738 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25741 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25742 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25743 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25744 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25745 no.general 1000 900 y
25748 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25751 active = *group-line
25752 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25753 group = <non-white-space string>
25755 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25756 low-number = <positive integer>
25757 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25760 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25761 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25764 @node Newsgroups File Format
25765 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25767 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25768 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25769 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25772 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25773 Here's the definition:
25777 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25778 group = <non-white-space string>
25780 description = <string>
25785 @node Emacs for Heathens
25786 @section Emacs for Heathens
25788 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25789 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25790 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25791 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25792 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25793 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25794 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25798 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25799 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25804 @subsection Keystrokes
25808 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25811 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25814 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25815 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25816 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25817 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25818 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25819 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25821 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25822 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25823 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25824 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25825 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25826 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25827 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25829 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25830 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25831 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25832 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25833 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25834 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25835 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25837 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25838 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25839 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25840 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25841 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25847 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25849 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25850 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25851 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25852 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25854 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25855 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25856 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25857 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25858 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25859 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25860 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25863 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25864 write the following:
25867 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25870 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25871 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25872 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25875 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25876 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25877 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25878 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25879 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25881 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25882 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25883 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25887 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25891 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25894 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25895 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25898 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25901 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25902 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25905 @include gnus-faq.texi
25925 @c Local Variables:
25927 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25929 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25930 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25931 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25932 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25933 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref