10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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284 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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293 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
295 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
299 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
300 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
301 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
302 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
303 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
304 License'' in the Emacs manual.
306 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
307 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
308 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
310 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
311 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
312 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
313 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
321 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
323 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
324 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
326 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
327 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
328 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
329 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
330 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
331 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
332 License'' in the Emacs manual.
334 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
335 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
336 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
338 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
339 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
340 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
341 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
349 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
352 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
353 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
355 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
357 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
358 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
359 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
360 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
361 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
362 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
363 License'' in the Emacs manual.
365 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
366 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
367 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
369 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
370 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
371 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
372 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
381 @top The Gnus Newsreader
385 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
386 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
387 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
390 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.16.
401 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
402 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
404 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
405 being accused of plagiarism:
407 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
408 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
409 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
410 can even read news with it!
412 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
413 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
414 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
415 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
416 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
422 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
423 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
424 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
425 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
426 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
427 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
428 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
429 * Various:: General purpose settings.
430 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
431 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
432 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
433 * Key Index:: Key Index.
435 Other related manuals
437 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
438 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
439 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
440 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
443 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
447 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
448 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
449 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
450 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
451 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
452 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
453 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
454 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
455 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
456 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
457 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
461 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
462 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
463 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
467 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
468 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
469 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
470 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
471 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
472 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
473 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
474 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
475 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
476 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
477 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
478 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
479 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
480 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
481 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
482 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
483 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
487 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
488 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
489 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
493 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
494 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
495 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
496 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
497 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
501 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
502 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
503 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
504 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
505 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
509 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
510 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
511 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
512 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
513 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
514 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
515 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
516 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
517 * Threading:: How threads are made.
518 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
519 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
520 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
521 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
522 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
523 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
524 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
525 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
526 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
527 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
528 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
529 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
530 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
531 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
532 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
533 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
534 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
535 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
536 or reselecting the current group.
537 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
538 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
539 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
540 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
542 Summary Buffer Format
544 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
545 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
546 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
547 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
551 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
552 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
554 Reply, Followup and Post
556 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
557 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
558 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
559 * Canceling and Superseding::
563 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
564 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
565 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
567 * Generic Marking Commands::
568 * Setting Process Marks::
572 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
573 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
574 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
578 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
579 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
581 Customizing Threading
583 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
584 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
585 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
586 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
590 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
591 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
592 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
593 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
594 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
595 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
599 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
600 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
601 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
605 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
606 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
607 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
608 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
609 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
610 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
611 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
612 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
613 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
614 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
616 Alternative Approaches
618 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
619 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
621 Various Summary Stuff
623 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
624 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
625 * Summary Generation Commands::
626 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
630 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
631 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
632 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
633 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
634 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
638 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
639 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
640 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
641 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
642 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
643 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
644 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
645 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
649 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
650 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
651 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
652 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
653 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
654 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
655 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
656 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
660 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
661 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
662 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
663 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
664 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
665 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
666 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
670 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
671 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
675 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
676 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
677 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
681 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
682 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
683 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
684 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
685 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
686 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
687 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
688 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
689 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
690 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
691 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
692 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
693 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
697 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
698 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
699 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
701 Choosing a Mail Back End
703 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
704 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
705 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
706 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
707 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
708 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
709 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
714 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
715 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
716 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
717 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
718 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
719 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
723 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
724 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
725 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
726 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
727 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
731 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
732 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
733 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
734 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
735 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
739 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
743 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
744 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
745 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
749 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
750 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
754 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
755 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
756 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
757 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
758 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
759 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
760 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
761 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
762 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
763 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
764 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
765 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
769 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
770 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
771 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
775 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
776 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
777 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
781 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
782 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
783 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
784 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
785 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
786 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
787 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
788 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
789 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
790 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
791 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
792 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
793 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
794 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
795 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
796 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
797 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
801 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
802 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
803 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
804 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
808 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
809 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
810 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
814 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
815 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
816 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
817 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
818 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
819 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
820 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
821 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
822 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
823 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
824 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
825 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
826 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
827 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
828 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
829 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
830 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
831 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
832 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
836 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
837 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
838 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
839 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
840 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
841 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
842 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
843 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
847 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
848 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
849 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
850 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
854 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
855 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
856 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
857 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
858 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
859 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
863 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
864 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
865 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
866 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
867 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
868 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
869 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
870 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
871 * Frequently Asked Questions::
875 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
876 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
877 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
878 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
879 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
880 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
881 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
882 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
883 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
887 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
888 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
889 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
890 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
891 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
895 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
896 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
897 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
898 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
902 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
903 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
904 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
905 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
906 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
907 * Group Info:: The group info format.
908 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
909 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
910 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
914 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
915 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
916 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
917 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
918 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
919 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
923 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
924 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
928 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
929 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
935 @chapter Starting Gnus
940 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
941 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
944 @findex gnus-other-frame
945 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
946 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
947 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
949 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
950 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
951 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
953 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
954 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
957 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
958 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
959 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
960 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
961 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
962 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
963 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
964 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
965 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
966 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
967 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
971 @node Finding the News
972 @section Finding the News
975 @vindex gnus-select-method
977 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
978 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
979 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
980 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
983 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
984 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
987 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
990 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
993 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
996 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
997 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
998 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1000 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1002 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1003 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1004 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1005 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1006 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1007 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1009 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1010 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1011 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1012 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1014 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1015 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1016 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1017 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1018 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1019 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1020 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1021 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1022 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1025 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1027 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1028 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1029 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1030 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1031 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1032 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1034 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1036 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1037 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1038 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1039 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1040 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1041 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1044 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1045 you would typically set this variable to
1048 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1052 @node The First Time
1053 @section The First Time
1054 @cindex first time usage
1056 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1057 be subscribed by default.
1059 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1060 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1061 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1062 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1065 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1066 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1067 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1069 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1070 help you with most common problems.
1072 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1073 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1077 @node The Server is Down
1078 @section The Server is Down
1079 @cindex server errors
1081 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1082 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1083 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1085 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1086 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1087 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1088 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1089 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1090 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1091 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1093 @findex gnus-no-server
1094 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1096 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1097 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1098 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1099 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1100 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1101 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1102 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1106 @section Slave Gnusae
1109 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1110 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1111 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1112 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1114 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1115 @file{.newsrc} file.
1117 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1118 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1119 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1120 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1121 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1122 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1123 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1126 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1127 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1128 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1129 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1130 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1131 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1132 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1133 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1135 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1136 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1138 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1139 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1140 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1141 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1142 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1144 @node Fetching a Group
1145 @section Fetching a Group
1146 @cindex fetching a group
1148 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1149 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1150 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1151 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1152 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1153 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1159 @cindex subscription
1161 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1162 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1163 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1164 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1165 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1166 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1167 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1168 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1169 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1172 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1173 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1174 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1178 @node Checking New Groups
1179 @subsection Checking New Groups
1181 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1182 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1183 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1184 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1185 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1186 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1187 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1188 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1189 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1190 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1192 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1193 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1194 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1195 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1196 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1197 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1198 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1199 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1200 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1201 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1202 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1204 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1205 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1206 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1207 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1208 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1209 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1212 @node Subscription Methods
1213 @subsection Subscription Methods
1215 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1216 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1217 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1219 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1220 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1222 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1226 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1228 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1229 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1230 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1234 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1235 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1239 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1243 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1244 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1245 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1246 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1247 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1248 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1249 up. Or something like that.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1253 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1254 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1255 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1259 Kill all new groups.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1263 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1264 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1265 topic parameter that looks like
1271 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1274 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1279 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1280 A closely related variable is
1281 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1282 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1283 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1284 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1287 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1288 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1289 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1290 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1293 @node Filtering New Groups
1294 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1296 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1297 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1298 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1301 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1304 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1305 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1306 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1307 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1308 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1309 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1310 subscribing these groups.
1311 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1312 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1314 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1315 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1316 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1317 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1318 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1319 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1320 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1321 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1323 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1324 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1325 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1326 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1327 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1328 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1329 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1330 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1331 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1332 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1335 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1336 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1339 @node Changing Servers
1340 @section Changing Servers
1341 @cindex changing servers
1343 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1344 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1345 very flaky and you want to use another.
1347 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1348 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1352 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1353 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1354 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1355 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1358 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1359 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1360 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1361 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1363 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1364 @findex gnus-change-server
1365 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1366 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1367 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1368 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1369 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1371 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1372 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1373 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1374 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1375 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1377 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1378 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1379 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1380 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1381 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1382 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1384 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1385 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1386 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1387 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1389 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1390 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1391 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1392 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1393 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1394 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1395 cache for all groups).
1399 @section Startup Files
1400 @cindex startup files
1405 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1406 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1408 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1409 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1410 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1411 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1412 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1413 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1414 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1416 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1417 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1418 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1419 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1420 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1421 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1423 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1424 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1425 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1426 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1427 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1428 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1429 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1430 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1431 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1432 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1434 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1435 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1436 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1437 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1438 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1439 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1440 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1441 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1442 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1443 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1444 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1445 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1447 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1448 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1449 @vindex version-control
1450 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1451 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1452 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1453 If you want version control for this file, set
1454 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1455 @code{version-control} variable.
1457 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1458 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1459 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1460 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1461 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1462 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1463 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1464 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1465 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1466 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1469 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1470 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1472 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1473 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1476 @vindex gnus-init-file
1477 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1478 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1479 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1480 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1481 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1482 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1483 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1484 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1485 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1486 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1492 @cindex dribble file
1495 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1496 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1497 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1498 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1499 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1502 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1503 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1506 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1507 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1508 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1510 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1511 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1512 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1513 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1514 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1515 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1517 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1518 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1519 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1522 @node The Active File
1523 @section The Active File
1525 @cindex ignored groups
1527 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1528 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1529 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1531 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1532 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1533 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1534 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1535 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1536 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1537 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1540 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1541 @c if you set it to anything else.
1543 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1545 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1546 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1547 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1549 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1550 you actually subscribe to.
1552 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1553 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1554 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1555 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1557 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1558 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1559 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1560 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1561 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1562 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1564 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1565 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1566 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1569 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1570 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1571 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1572 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1573 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1574 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1576 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1577 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1579 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1580 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1582 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1583 secondary select methods.
1586 @node Startup Variables
1587 @section Startup Variables
1591 @item gnus-load-hook
1592 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1593 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1594 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1595 times you start Gnus.
1597 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1599 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1601 @item gnus-startup-hook
1602 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1603 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1605 @item gnus-started-hook
1606 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1607 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1610 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1611 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1612 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1613 generating the group buffer.
1615 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1616 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1617 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1618 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1619 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1620 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1621 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1622 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1624 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1625 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1626 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1627 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1628 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1629 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1631 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1632 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1633 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1635 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1636 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1637 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1639 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1640 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1641 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1642 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1648 @chapter Group Buffer
1649 @cindex group buffer
1651 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1653 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1654 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1655 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1656 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1657 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1658 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1659 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1660 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1661 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1662 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1663 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1664 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1665 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1666 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1667 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1668 @c human rights at 9...
1671 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1672 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1673 long as Gnus is active.
1677 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1678 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1679 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1680 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1681 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1682 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1683 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1684 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1690 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1691 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1692 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1693 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1694 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1695 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1696 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1697 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1698 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1699 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1700 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1701 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1702 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1703 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1704 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1705 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1706 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1710 @node Group Buffer Format
1711 @section Group Buffer Format
1714 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1715 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1716 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1720 @node Group Line Specification
1721 @subsection Group Line Specification
1722 @cindex group buffer format
1724 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1725 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1727 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1730 25: news.announce.newusers
1731 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1736 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1737 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1738 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1739 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1741 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1742 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1743 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1744 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1745 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1746 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1748 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1750 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1751 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1752 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1753 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1754 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1756 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1757 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1758 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1760 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1765 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1768 Whether the group is subscribed.
1771 Level of subscribedness.
1774 Number of unread articles.
1777 Number of dormant articles.
1780 Number of ticked articles.
1783 Number of read articles.
1786 Number of unseen articles.
1789 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1790 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1792 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1793 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1794 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1795 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1796 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1797 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1798 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1799 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1802 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1805 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1814 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1815 comment element in the group parameters.
1818 Newsgroup description.
1821 @samp{m} if moderated.
1824 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1830 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1836 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1840 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1843 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1844 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1845 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1846 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1847 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1850 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1852 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1856 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1859 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1863 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1864 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1865 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1866 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1867 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1868 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1873 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1874 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1875 group, or a bogus native group.
1878 @node Group Modeline Specification
1879 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1880 @cindex group modeline
1882 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1883 The mode line can be changed by setting
1884 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1885 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1889 The native news server.
1891 The native select method.
1895 @node Group Highlighting
1896 @subsection Group Highlighting
1897 @cindex highlighting
1898 @cindex group highlighting
1900 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1901 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1902 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1903 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1904 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1906 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1910 (cond (window-system
1911 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1912 (defface my-group-face-1
1913 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1914 (defface my-group-face-2
1915 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1916 (defface my-group-face-3
1917 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1918 (defface my-group-face-4
1919 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1920 (defface my-group-face-5
1921 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1923 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1924 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1925 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1926 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1927 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1928 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1931 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1933 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1940 The number of unread articles in the group.
1944 Whether the group is a mail group.
1946 The level of the group.
1948 The score of the group.
1950 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1952 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1953 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1955 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1956 topic being inserted.
1959 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1960 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1961 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1963 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1964 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1965 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1966 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1967 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1970 @node Group Maneuvering
1971 @section Group Maneuvering
1972 @cindex group movement
1974 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1975 expected, hopefully.
1981 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1982 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1983 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1989 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1990 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1991 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1996 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2000 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2001 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2005 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2006 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2007 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2012 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2013 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2016 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2022 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2023 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2024 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2029 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2030 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2031 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2035 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2036 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2037 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2040 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2041 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2042 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2043 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2047 @node Selecting a Group
2048 @section Selecting a Group
2049 @cindex group selection
2054 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2055 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2056 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2057 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2058 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2059 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2060 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2061 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2062 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2063 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2065 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2066 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2067 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2069 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2070 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2075 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2076 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2077 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2078 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2079 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2083 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2084 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2085 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2086 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2087 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2088 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2089 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2090 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2091 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2092 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2095 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2096 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2097 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2098 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2099 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2102 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2103 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2104 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2105 doing any processing of its contents
2106 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2107 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2108 manner will have no permanent effects.
2112 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2113 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2114 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2115 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2116 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2117 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2118 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2119 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2122 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2123 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2124 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2125 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2126 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2127 Which article this is is controlled by the
2128 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2134 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2137 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2140 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2142 @item unseen-or-unread
2143 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2144 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2148 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2152 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2153 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2155 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2156 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2157 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2158 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2162 @node Subscription Commands
2163 @section Subscription Commands
2164 @cindex subscription
2172 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2173 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2174 Toggle subscription to the current group
2175 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2181 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2182 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2183 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2184 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2190 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2191 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2192 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2198 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2199 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2202 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2203 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2204 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2205 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2206 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2212 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2213 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2217 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2218 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2221 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2222 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2223 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2224 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2225 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2226 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2227 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2228 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2229 @file{.newsrc} file.
2233 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2243 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2244 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2245 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2246 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2247 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2248 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2253 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2254 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2255 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2259 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2260 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2261 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2263 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2264 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2265 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2266 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2267 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2268 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2275 @section Group Levels
2279 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2280 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2281 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2282 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2283 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2285 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2291 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2292 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2293 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2294 prompted for a level.
2297 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2298 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2299 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2300 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2301 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2302 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2303 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2304 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2305 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2306 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2307 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2308 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2309 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2310 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2311 reasons of efficiency.
2313 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2314 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2316 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2317 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2318 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2319 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2320 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2321 groups are hidden, in a way.
2323 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2324 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2325 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2326 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2327 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2328 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2330 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2331 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2332 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2333 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2334 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2335 list of killed groups.)
2337 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2338 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2339 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2341 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2342 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2343 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2344 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2345 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2346 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2347 relevant valid ranges.
2349 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2350 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2351 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2352 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2353 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2354 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2357 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2358 one with the best level.
2360 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2361 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2362 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2365 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2366 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2367 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2368 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2371 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2372 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2373 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2374 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2376 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2377 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2378 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2379 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2380 to 5. The default is 6.
2384 @section Group Score
2389 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2390 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2391 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2394 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2395 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2396 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2397 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2398 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2399 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2400 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2401 least significant part.))
2403 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2404 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2405 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2406 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2407 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2408 action after each summary exit, you can add
2409 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2410 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2411 slow things down somewhat.
2414 @node Marking Groups
2415 @section Marking Groups
2416 @cindex marking groups
2418 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2419 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2420 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2421 bidding on those groups.
2423 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2424 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2425 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2433 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2434 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2440 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2441 Remove the mark from the current group
2442 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2446 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2447 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2451 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2452 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2456 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2457 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2461 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2462 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2463 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2466 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2468 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2469 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2470 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2471 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2472 the command to be executed.
2475 @node Foreign Groups
2476 @section Foreign Groups
2477 @cindex foreign groups
2479 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2480 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2481 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2482 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2489 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2490 @cindex making groups
2491 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2492 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2493 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2497 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2498 @cindex renaming groups
2499 Rename the current group to something else
2500 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2501 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2507 @findex gnus-group-customize
2508 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2512 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2513 @cindex renaming groups
2514 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2515 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2519 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2520 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2521 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2526 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2527 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2531 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2533 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2534 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2539 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2540 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2544 @cindex (ding) archive
2545 @cindex archive group
2546 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2547 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2548 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2549 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2550 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2551 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2552 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2558 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2559 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2560 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2561 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2565 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2567 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2568 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2569 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2573 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2574 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2576 Make a group based on some file or other
2577 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2578 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2579 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2580 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2581 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2582 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2583 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2584 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2585 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2589 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2590 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2591 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2592 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2600 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2601 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2602 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2603 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2604 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2605 @xref{Web Searches}.
2607 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2608 to a particular group by using a match string like
2609 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2612 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2613 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2614 This function will delete the current group
2615 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2616 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2617 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2618 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2619 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2623 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2624 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2625 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2629 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2630 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2631 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2634 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2637 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2638 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2639 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2640 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2641 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2642 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2646 @node Group Parameters
2647 @section Group Parameters
2648 @cindex group parameters
2650 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2651 Here's an example group parameter list:
2654 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2658 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2659 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2660 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2661 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2663 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2664 is an alist of regexps and values.
2666 The following group parameters can be used:
2671 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2674 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2677 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2678 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2679 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2680 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2681 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2683 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2684 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2685 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2686 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2687 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2688 list address instead.
2690 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2694 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2697 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2700 It is totally ignored
2701 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2702 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2704 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2705 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2706 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2707 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2708 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2710 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2711 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2712 sending the message.
2714 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2715 @cindex Mail List Groups
2716 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2717 entering summary buffer.
2719 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2724 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2725 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2726 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2727 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2728 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2729 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2731 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2732 directly uses this group parameter.
2736 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2737 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2738 of whether it has any unread articles.
2740 @item broken-reply-to
2741 @cindex broken-reply-to
2742 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2743 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2744 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2745 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2746 broken behavior. So there!
2750 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2751 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2755 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2756 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2757 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2762 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2763 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2764 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2765 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2766 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2767 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2768 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2769 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2770 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2774 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2775 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2776 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2778 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2781 @cindex total-expire
2782 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2783 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2784 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2785 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2788 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2792 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2793 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2794 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2795 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2796 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2797 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2798 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2801 @cindex score file group parameter
2802 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2803 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2804 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2807 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2808 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2809 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2810 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2813 @cindex admin-address
2814 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2815 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2816 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2817 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2821 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2822 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2826 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2829 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2830 entering the group with C-u @var{integer}.
2833 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2837 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2839 Here are some examples:
2843 Display only unread articles.
2846 Display everything except expirable articles.
2848 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2849 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2853 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2854 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2855 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2856 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2857 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2861 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2862 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2863 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2867 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2868 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2869 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2873 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2874 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2875 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2877 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2879 @item ignored-charsets
2880 @cindex ignored-charset
2881 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2882 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2883 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2885 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2888 @cindex posting-style
2889 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2890 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2891 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2892 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2893 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2895 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2896 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2897 like this in the group parameters:
2902 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2903 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2908 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2909 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2913 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2914 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2915 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2916 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2917 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2921 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2922 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2923 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2924 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2926 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2927 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2928 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2929 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2932 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2933 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2937 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2940 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2941 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2942 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2943 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2944 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2945 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2946 @code{eval}ed there.
2948 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2949 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2950 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2951 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2952 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2953 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2954 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2955 parameters for the group.
2958 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2959 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2960 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2961 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2962 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2966 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2967 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2968 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2969 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2970 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2972 @vindex gnus-parameters
2973 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2974 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2978 (setq gnus-parameters
2980 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2981 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2982 (gnus-summary-line-format
2983 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2987 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2991 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2995 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2998 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2999 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3002 @node Listing Groups
3003 @section Listing Groups
3004 @cindex group listing
3006 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3014 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3015 List all groups that have unread articles
3016 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3017 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3018 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3019 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3027 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3028 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3029 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3030 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3031 unsubscribed groups).
3035 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3036 List all unread groups on a specific level
3037 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3038 with no unread articles.
3042 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3043 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3044 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3045 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3050 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3051 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3055 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3056 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3057 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3061 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3062 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3066 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3067 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3068 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3069 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3070 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3071 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3072 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3073 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3077 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3078 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3079 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3083 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3084 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3085 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3090 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3094 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3095 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3099 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3100 List groups limited within the current selection
3101 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3105 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3106 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3110 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3111 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3115 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3116 @cindex visible group parameter
3117 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3118 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3119 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3120 get the same effect.
3122 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3123 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3124 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3125 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3126 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3129 @node Sorting Groups
3130 @section Sorting Groups
3131 @cindex sorting groups
3133 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3134 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3135 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3136 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3137 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3138 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3145 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3149 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3151 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3152 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3153 Sort by group level.
3155 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3156 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3157 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3159 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3160 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3161 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3162 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3164 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3166 Sort by number of unread articles.
3168 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3169 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3170 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3172 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3173 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3174 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3179 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3180 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3184 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3185 some sorting criteria:
3189 @kindex G S a (Group)
3190 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3191 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3192 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3195 @kindex G S u (Group)
3196 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3197 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3198 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3201 @kindex G S l (Group)
3202 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3203 Sort the group buffer by group level
3204 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3207 @kindex G S v (Group)
3208 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3209 Sort the group buffer by group score
3210 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3213 @kindex G S r (Group)
3214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3215 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3216 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3219 @kindex G S m (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3221 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3222 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3225 @kindex G S n (Group)
3226 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3227 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3228 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3232 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3233 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3235 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3236 commands will sort in reverse order.
3238 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3242 @kindex G P a (Group)
3243 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3244 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3245 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3248 @kindex G P u (Group)
3249 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3250 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3251 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3254 @kindex G P l (Group)
3255 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3256 Sort the groups by group level
3257 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3260 @kindex G P v (Group)
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3262 Sort the groups by group score
3263 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3266 @kindex G P r (Group)
3267 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3268 Sort the groups by group rank
3269 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3272 @kindex G P m (Group)
3273 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3274 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3275 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3278 @kindex G P n (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3280 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3281 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3284 @kindex G P s (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3286 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3290 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3294 @node Group Maintenance
3295 @section Group Maintenance
3296 @cindex bogus groups
3301 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3302 Find bogus groups and delete them
3303 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3307 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3308 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3309 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3310 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3311 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3315 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3316 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3317 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3318 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3319 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3320 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3323 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3324 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3325 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3326 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3331 @node Browse Foreign Server
3332 @section Browse Foreign Server
3333 @cindex foreign servers
3334 @cindex browsing servers
3339 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3340 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3341 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3342 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3345 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3346 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3347 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3348 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3350 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3355 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3356 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3360 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3361 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3364 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3365 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3366 Enter the current group and display the first article
3367 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3370 @kindex RET (Browse)
3371 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3372 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3376 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3377 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3378 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3384 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3385 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3389 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3390 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3394 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3395 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3396 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3401 @section Exiting Gnus
3402 @cindex exiting Gnus
3404 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3409 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3410 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3411 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3412 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3416 @findex gnus-group-exit
3417 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3418 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3422 @findex gnus-group-quit
3423 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3424 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3427 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3428 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3429 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3430 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3431 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3432 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3437 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3438 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3439 trying to customize meta-variables.
3444 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3445 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3446 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3452 @section Group Topics
3455 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3456 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3457 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3458 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3459 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3460 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3464 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3465 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3476 2: alt.religion.emacs
3479 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3481 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3482 13: comp.sources.unix
3485 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3487 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3488 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3489 is a toggling command.)
3491 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3492 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3493 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3494 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3497 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3498 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3499 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3502 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3506 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3507 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3508 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3509 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3510 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3514 @node Topic Commands
3515 @subsection Topic Commands
3516 @cindex topic commands
3518 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3519 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3520 definitions slightly.
3522 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3523 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3524 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3525 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3526 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3527 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3529 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3536 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3537 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3538 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3542 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3544 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3545 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3546 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3547 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3550 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3551 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3552 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3553 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3557 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3558 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3559 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3560 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3566 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3567 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3568 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3572 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3573 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3574 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3577 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3578 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3579 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3580 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3581 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3583 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3584 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3588 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3589 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3596 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3598 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3599 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3600 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3601 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3602 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3603 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3607 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3613 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3614 Move the current group to some other topic
3615 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3616 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3620 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3621 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3625 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3626 Copy the current group to some other topic
3627 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3628 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3632 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3633 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3634 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3638 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3639 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3640 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3644 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3645 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3646 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3647 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3648 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3649 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3650 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3653 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3654 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3658 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3659 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3660 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3664 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3665 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3666 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3670 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3671 Toggle hiding empty topics
3672 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3676 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3677 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3678 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3679 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3682 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3684 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3685 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3686 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3689 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3690 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3691 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3692 expiry process (if any)
3693 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3697 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3698 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3701 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3702 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3703 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3707 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3708 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3709 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3712 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3713 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3714 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3717 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3718 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3719 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3723 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3724 @cindex group parameters
3725 @cindex topic parameters
3727 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3728 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3733 @node Topic Variables
3734 @subsection Topic Variables
3735 @cindex topic variables
3737 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3738 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3740 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3741 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3742 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3755 Number of groups in the topic.
3757 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3759 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3762 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3763 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3764 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3767 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3768 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3770 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3771 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3772 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3776 @subsection Topic Sorting
3777 @cindex topic sorting
3779 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3785 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3786 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3787 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3788 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3791 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3792 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3793 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3794 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3797 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3798 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3799 Sort the current topic by group level
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3803 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3805 Sort the current topic by group score
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3809 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3811 Sort the current topic by group rank
3812 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3815 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3816 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3817 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3818 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3821 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3822 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3823 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3824 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3828 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3829 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3830 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3831 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3835 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3836 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3840 @node Topic Topology
3841 @subsection Topic Topology
3842 @cindex topic topology
3845 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3851 2: alt.religion.emacs
3854 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3856 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3857 13: comp.sources.unix
3860 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3861 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3862 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3867 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3868 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3872 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3873 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3874 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3875 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3876 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3877 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3879 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3880 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3881 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3884 @node Topic Parameters
3885 @subsection Topic Parameters
3886 @cindex topic parameters
3888 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3889 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3890 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3892 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3897 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3898 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3899 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3902 @item subscribe-level
3903 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3904 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3905 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3909 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3910 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3911 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3912 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3918 2: alt.religion.emacs
3922 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3924 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3925 13: comp.sources.unix
3929 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3930 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3931 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3932 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3933 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3934 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3936 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3937 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3938 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3939 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3940 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3942 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3943 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3944 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3945 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3946 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3947 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3948 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3949 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3952 @node Misc Group Stuff
3953 @section Misc Group Stuff
3956 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3957 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3958 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3959 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3960 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3967 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3968 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3969 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3973 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3974 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3975 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3976 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3977 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3978 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3979 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3983 @findex gnus-group-mail
3984 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3985 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3986 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3987 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3991 @findex gnus-group-news
3992 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3993 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3994 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3996 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3997 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
3998 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3999 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4000 for this to work though.
4004 Variables for the group buffer:
4008 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4009 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4010 is called after the group buffer has been
4013 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4014 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4015 is called after the group buffer is
4016 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4019 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4020 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4021 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4022 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4024 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4025 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4026 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4027 whether they are empty or not.
4029 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4030 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4031 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4032 non-ASCII group names.
4036 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4037 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4040 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4041 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4042 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4043 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4044 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4045 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4050 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4051 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4056 @node Scanning New Messages
4057 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4058 @cindex new messages
4059 @cindex scanning new news
4065 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4066 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4067 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4068 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4069 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4070 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4075 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4076 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4077 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4078 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4079 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4080 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4081 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4083 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4084 @cindex activating groups
4086 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4087 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4092 @findex gnus-group-restart
4093 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4094 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4095 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4099 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4100 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4102 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4103 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4107 @node Group Information
4108 @subsection Group Information
4109 @cindex group information
4110 @cindex information on groups
4117 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4118 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4121 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4122 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4123 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4124 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4125 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4126 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4127 for fetching the file.
4129 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4130 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4134 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4135 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4137 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4138 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4141 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4142 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4143 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4147 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4148 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4149 @cindex control message
4150 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4151 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4152 group if given a prefix argument.
4154 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4155 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4156 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4157 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4159 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4160 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4161 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4165 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4167 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4168 @cindex describing groups
4169 @cindex group description
4170 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4171 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4172 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4176 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4177 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4178 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4185 @findex gnus-version
4186 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4190 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4191 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4194 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4197 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4198 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4202 @node Group Timestamp
4203 @subsection Group Timestamp
4205 @cindex group timestamps
4207 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4208 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4209 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4212 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4215 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4217 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4218 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4221 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4222 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4225 This will result in lines looking like:
4228 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4229 0: custom 19961002T012713
4232 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4233 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4237 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4238 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4241 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4242 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4246 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4247 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4248 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4249 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4251 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4257 @subsection File Commands
4258 @cindex file commands
4264 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4265 @vindex gnus-init-file
4266 @cindex reading init file
4267 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4268 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4272 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4273 @cindex saving .newsrc
4274 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4275 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4276 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4279 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4280 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4281 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4286 @node Sieve Commands
4287 @subsection Sieve Commands
4288 @cindex group sieve commands
4290 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4291 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4292 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4293 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4294 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4296 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4297 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4298 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4299 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4300 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4301 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4302 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4303 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4304 regenerate the Sieve script.
4306 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4307 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4308 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4309 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4310 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4311 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4312 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4313 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4314 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4315 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4318 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4319 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4324 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4330 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4331 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4332 @cindex generating sieve script
4333 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4334 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4338 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4339 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4340 @cindex updating sieve script
4341 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4342 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4343 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4348 @node Summary Buffer
4349 @chapter Summary Buffer
4350 @cindex summary buffer
4352 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4353 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4355 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4356 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4358 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4361 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4362 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4363 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4364 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4365 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4366 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4367 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4368 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4369 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4370 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4371 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4372 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4373 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4374 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4375 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4376 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4377 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4378 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4379 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4380 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4381 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4382 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4383 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4384 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4385 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4386 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4387 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4388 or reselecting the current group.
4389 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4390 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4391 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4392 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4396 @node Summary Buffer Format
4397 @section Summary Buffer Format
4398 @cindex summary buffer format
4402 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4403 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4404 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4410 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4411 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4412 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4413 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4416 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4417 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4418 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4419 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4420 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4421 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4422 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4423 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4424 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4425 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4426 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4429 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4430 'mail-extract-address-components)
4433 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4434 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4435 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4436 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4439 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4440 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4442 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4443 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4444 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4445 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4446 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4448 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4449 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4450 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4451 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4452 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4453 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4455 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4457 The following format specification characters and extended format
4458 specification(s) are understood:
4464 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4465 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4467 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4468 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4469 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4471 Full @code{From} header.
4473 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4475 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4478 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4479 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4480 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4481 may be more thorough.
4483 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4486 Number of lines in the article.
4488 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4489 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4491 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4492 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4494 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4496 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4497 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4510 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4511 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4512 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4515 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4516 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4517 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4518 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4520 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4521 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4522 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4523 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4525 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4526 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4527 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4529 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4530 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4531 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4533 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4534 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4535 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4537 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4538 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4539 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4544 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4545 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4547 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4548 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4550 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4551 for adopted articles.
4553 One space for each thread level.
4555 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4557 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4560 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4561 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4562 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4565 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4567 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4568 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4569 default level. If the difference between
4570 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4571 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4579 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4581 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4587 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4588 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4590 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4591 article has any children.
4597 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4598 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4600 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4601 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4602 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4603 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4604 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4605 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4608 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4609 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4610 There can only be one such area.
4612 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4613 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4614 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4615 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4616 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4617 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4619 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4620 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4622 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4625 @node To From Newsgroups
4626 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4630 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4631 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4632 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4633 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4634 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4638 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4639 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4640 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4644 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4645 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4648 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4649 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4652 @findex gnus-extra-header
4653 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4654 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4655 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4658 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4662 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4663 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4664 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4665 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4666 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4667 headers are used instead.
4671 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4672 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4673 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
4674 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4675 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4676 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4679 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4680 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4681 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4682 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4684 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4688 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4690 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4691 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4692 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4693 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4697 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4700 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4701 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4704 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4705 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4706 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4712 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4713 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4716 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4717 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4719 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4720 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4721 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4722 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4724 Here are the elements you can play with:
4730 Unprefixed group name.
4732 Current article number.
4734 Current article score.
4738 Number of unread articles in this group.
4740 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4743 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4744 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4745 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4746 and no unselected ones.
4748 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4749 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4751 Subject of the current article.
4753 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4755 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4757 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4759 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4761 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4763 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4767 @node Summary Highlighting
4768 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4772 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4773 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4774 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4775 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4776 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4778 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4779 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4780 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4781 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4783 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4784 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4785 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4786 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4788 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4790 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4791 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4792 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4793 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4796 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4797 ((> score default) . bold))
4799 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4800 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4804 @node Summary Maneuvering
4805 @section Summary Maneuvering
4806 @cindex summary movement
4808 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4809 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4811 None of these commands select articles.
4816 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4817 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4818 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4819 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4820 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4824 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4825 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4827 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4828 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4831 @kindex G g (Summary)
4832 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4833 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4834 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4837 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4838 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4839 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4840 to the group buffer.
4842 Variables related to summary movement:
4846 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4847 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4848 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4849 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4850 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4851 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4852 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4853 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4854 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4855 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4856 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4857 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4858 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4859 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4861 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4862 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4863 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4864 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4865 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4866 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4867 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4869 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4871 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4872 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4873 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4874 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4875 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4877 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4878 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4879 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4880 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4881 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4882 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4883 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4884 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4887 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4888 the given number of lines from the top.
4893 @node Choosing Articles
4894 @section Choosing Articles
4895 @cindex selecting articles
4898 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4899 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4903 @node Choosing Commands
4904 @subsection Choosing Commands
4906 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4907 and they all select and display an article.
4909 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4910 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4914 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4915 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4916 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4917 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4919 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4920 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4921 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4926 @kindex G n (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4928 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4929 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4934 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4935 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4936 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4941 @kindex G N (Summary)
4942 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4943 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4948 @kindex G P (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4950 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4953 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4954 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4955 Go to the next article with the same subject
4956 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4959 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4961 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4962 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4966 @kindex G f (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4969 Go to the first unread article
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4974 @kindex G b (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4977 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4979 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4984 @kindex G l (Summary)
4985 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4986 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4989 @kindex G o (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4992 @cindex article history
4993 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4994 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4995 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4996 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4997 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4998 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5003 @kindex G j (Summary)
5004 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5005 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5006 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5011 @node Choosing Variables
5012 @subsection Choosing Variables
5014 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5017 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5018 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5019 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5020 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5021 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5022 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5024 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5025 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5026 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5027 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5028 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5029 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5031 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5032 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5033 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5034 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5035 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5036 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5037 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5038 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5039 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5040 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5041 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5042 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5043 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5044 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5049 @node Paging the Article
5050 @section Scrolling the Article
5051 @cindex article scrolling
5056 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5057 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5058 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5059 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5060 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5062 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5063 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5064 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5065 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5066 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5067 what is considered uninteresting with
5068 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5069 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5072 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5073 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5074 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5077 @kindex RET (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5079 Scroll the current article one line forward
5080 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5083 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5085 Scroll the current article one line backward
5086 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5090 @kindex A g (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5093 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5094 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5095 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5096 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5097 the way it came from the server.
5099 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5100 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5101 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5104 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5109 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5114 @kindex A < (Summary)
5115 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5116 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5117 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5122 @kindex A > (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5124 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5128 @kindex A s (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5131 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5132 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5136 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5137 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5142 @node Reply Followup and Post
5143 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5146 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5147 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5148 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5149 * Canceling and Superseding::
5153 @node Summary Mail Commands
5154 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5156 @cindex composing mail
5158 Commands for composing a mail message:
5164 @kindex S r (Summary)
5166 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5167 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5168 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5169 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5170 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5175 @kindex S R (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5177 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5178 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5179 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5180 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5183 @kindex S w (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5185 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5186 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5187 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5188 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5191 @kindex S W (Summary)
5192 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5193 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5194 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5195 the process/prefix convention.
5198 @kindex S v (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5200 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5201 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5202 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5203 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5204 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5207 @kindex S V (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5209 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5210 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5211 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5214 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5216 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5217 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5220 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5222 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5223 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5224 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5228 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5229 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5230 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5231 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5232 Forward the current article to some other person
5233 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5234 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5235 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5236 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5237 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5238 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5239 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5240 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5241 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5247 @kindex S m (Summary)
5248 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5249 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5250 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5251 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5252 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5257 @kindex S i (Summary)
5258 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5259 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5260 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5261 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5263 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5264 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5265 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5266 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5267 for this to work though.
5270 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5272 @cindex bouncing mail
5273 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5274 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5275 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5276 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5277 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5278 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5279 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5280 very well fail, though.
5283 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5285 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5286 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5287 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5288 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5289 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5290 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5291 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5292 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5294 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5295 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5296 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5297 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5298 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5300 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5301 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5304 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5306 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5307 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5308 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5311 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5313 @cindex crossposting
5314 @cindex excessive crossposting
5315 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5316 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5318 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5319 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5320 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5321 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5322 command understands the process/prefix convention
5323 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5327 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5328 Manual}, for more information.
5331 @node Summary Post Commands
5332 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5334 @cindex composing news
5336 Commands for posting a news article:
5342 @kindex S p (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5344 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5345 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5346 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5347 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5352 @kindex S f (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5354 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5355 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5359 @kindex S F (Summary)
5361 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5362 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5363 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5364 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5365 process/prefix convention.
5368 @kindex S n (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5370 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5371 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5374 @kindex S N (Summary)
5375 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5376 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5377 message through mail and include the original message
5378 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5379 the process/prefix convention.
5382 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5384 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5385 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5386 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5387 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5388 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5389 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5390 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5391 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5392 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5393 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5394 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5397 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5398 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5400 @cindex making digests
5401 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5402 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5403 process/prefix convention.
5406 @kindex S u (Summary)
5407 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5408 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5409 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5410 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5413 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5414 Manual}, for more information.
5417 @node Summary Message Commands
5418 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5422 @kindex S y (Summary)
5423 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5424 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5425 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5426 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5427 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5432 @node Canceling and Superseding
5433 @subsection Canceling Articles
5434 @cindex canceling articles
5435 @cindex superseding articles
5437 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5438 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5440 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5442 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5444 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5445 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5446 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5447 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5448 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5449 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5451 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5452 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5455 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5456 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5457 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5459 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5460 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5461 your original article.
5463 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5465 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5466 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5467 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5470 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5471 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5472 have posted almost the same article twice.
5474 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5475 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5476 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5477 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5478 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5479 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5480 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5481 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5482 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5483 canceled/superseded.
5485 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5487 @node Delayed Articles
5488 @section Delayed Articles
5489 @cindex delayed sending
5490 @cindex send delayed
5492 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5493 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5494 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5495 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5498 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5501 @findex gnus-delay-article
5502 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5503 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5504 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5505 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5509 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5510 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5511 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5512 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5515 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5516 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5517 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5520 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5521 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5522 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5523 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5524 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5525 that means a time tomorrow.
5528 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5529 couple of variables:
5532 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5533 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5534 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5535 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5537 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5538 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5539 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5540 formats described above.
5542 @item gnus-delay-group
5543 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5544 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5545 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5546 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5548 @item gnus-delay-header
5549 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5550 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5551 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5552 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5555 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5556 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5557 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5558 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5559 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5561 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5562 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5563 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5564 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5565 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5566 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5567 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5570 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5571 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5572 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5573 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5574 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5575 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5576 argument is ignored.
5578 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5579 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5580 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5584 @node Marking Articles
5585 @section Marking Articles
5586 @cindex article marking
5587 @cindex article ticking
5590 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5592 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5593 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5594 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5596 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5599 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5600 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5601 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5605 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5609 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5610 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5611 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5615 @node Unread Articles
5616 @subsection Unread Articles
5618 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5623 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5624 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5626 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5627 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5628 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5629 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5630 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5631 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5632 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5635 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5636 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5638 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5639 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5640 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5641 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5645 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5646 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5648 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5653 @subsection Read Articles
5654 @cindex expirable mark
5656 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5661 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5662 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5663 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5666 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5667 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5670 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5671 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5672 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5675 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5676 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5679 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5680 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5683 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5684 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5687 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5688 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5691 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5692 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5695 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5696 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5699 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5700 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5704 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5705 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5706 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5710 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5711 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5713 One more special mark, though:
5717 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5718 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5720 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5721 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5722 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5723 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5729 @subsection Other Marks
5730 @cindex process mark
5733 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5739 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5740 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5741 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5742 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5743 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5746 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5747 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5748 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5749 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5752 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5753 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5754 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5757 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5758 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5759 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5762 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5763 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5764 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5765 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5768 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5769 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5770 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5771 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5772 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5773 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5776 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5777 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5778 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5779 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5782 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5783 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5784 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5785 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5786 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5790 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5791 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5792 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5793 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5794 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5795 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5798 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5799 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5800 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5801 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5802 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5803 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5807 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5808 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5809 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5810 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5811 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5814 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5815 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5816 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5817 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5818 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5819 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5823 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5824 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5825 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5827 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5828 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5829 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5833 @subsection Setting Marks
5834 @cindex setting marks
5836 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5841 @kindex M c (Summary)
5842 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5844 @cindex mark as unread
5845 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5846 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5852 @kindex M t (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5854 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5855 @xref{Article Caching}.
5860 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5862 Mark the current article as dormant
5863 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5867 @kindex M d (Summary)
5869 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5870 Mark the current article as read
5871 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5875 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5876 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5877 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5882 @kindex M k (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5884 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5885 and then select the next unread article
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5890 @kindex M K (Summary)
5891 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5893 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5894 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5897 @kindex M C (Summary)
5898 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5899 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5900 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5903 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5905 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5906 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5909 @kindex M H (Summary)
5910 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5911 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5912 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5915 @kindex M h (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5917 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5918 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5921 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5923 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5924 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5927 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5929 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5930 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5934 @kindex M e (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5937 Mark the current article as expirable
5938 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5941 @kindex M b (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5943 Set a bookmark in the current article
5944 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5947 @kindex M B (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5949 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5950 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5953 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5954 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5955 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5956 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5959 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5960 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5961 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5962 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5965 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5966 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5967 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5968 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5969 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5972 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5973 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5974 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5975 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5976 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5977 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5978 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5979 The default is @code{t}.
5982 @node Generic Marking Commands
5983 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5985 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5986 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5987 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5988 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5989 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5992 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5993 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5996 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5997 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5998 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5999 to list in this manual.
6001 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6002 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6003 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6004 article, you could say something like:
6007 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6008 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6009 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6015 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6016 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6020 @node Setting Process Marks
6021 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6022 @cindex setting process marks
6024 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6025 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6026 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6027 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6028 commands into the cache. For more information,
6029 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6036 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6037 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6038 Mark the current article with the process mark
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6040 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6044 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6045 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6046 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6047 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6050 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6051 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6052 Remove the process mark from all articles
6053 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6056 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6057 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6058 Invert the list of process marked articles
6059 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6062 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6063 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6064 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6065 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6068 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6069 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6070 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6071 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6074 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6076 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6080 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6081 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6084 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6086 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6087 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6090 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6092 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6093 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6096 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6098 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6099 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6102 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6104 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6107 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6109 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6110 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6113 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6115 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6118 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6119 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6120 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6121 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6124 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6125 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6126 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6127 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6130 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6131 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6132 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6133 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6136 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6138 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6139 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6143 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6144 set process marks based on article body contents.
6151 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6152 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6153 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6156 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6157 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6158 additional articles.
6164 @kindex / / (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6166 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6171 @kindex / a (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6173 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6174 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6178 @kindex / x (Summary)
6179 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6180 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6181 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6182 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6187 @kindex / u (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6190 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6191 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6192 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6193 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6196 @kindex / m (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6198 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6199 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6202 @kindex / t (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6204 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6205 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6206 articles younger than that number of days.
6209 @kindex / n (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6211 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6213 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6216 @kindex / w (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6218 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6219 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6223 @kindex / . (Summary)
6224 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6225 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6226 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6229 @kindex / v (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6231 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6232 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6235 @kindex / p (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6237 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6238 group parameter predicate
6239 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6240 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6244 @kindex M S (Summary)
6245 @kindex / E (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6247 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6248 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6251 @kindex / D (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6253 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6254 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6257 @kindex / * (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6259 Include all cached articles in the limit
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6263 @kindex / d (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6265 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6269 @kindex / M (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6271 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6274 @kindex / T (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6276 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6279 @kindex / c (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6281 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6285 @kindex / C (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6287 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6288 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6289 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6292 @kindex / N (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6294 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6295 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6298 @kindex / o (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6300 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6301 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6309 @cindex article threading
6311 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6312 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6313 hierarchical fashion.
6315 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6316 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6317 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6318 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6319 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6320 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6321 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6323 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6327 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6330 A tree-like article structure.
6333 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6336 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6337 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6338 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6339 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6340 called loose threads.
6342 @item thread gathering
6343 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6345 @item sparse threads
6346 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6347 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6353 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6354 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6358 @node Customizing Threading
6359 @subsection Customizing Threading
6360 @cindex customizing threading
6363 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6364 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6365 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6366 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6371 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6374 @cindex loose threads
6377 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6378 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6379 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6380 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6381 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6382 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6384 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6385 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6386 There are four possible values:
6390 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6391 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6392 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6393 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6394 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6399 @cindex adopting articles
6404 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6405 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6406 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6407 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6410 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6411 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6412 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6413 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6414 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6415 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6416 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6417 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6418 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6419 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6422 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6423 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6424 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6428 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6429 display them after one another.
6432 Don't gather loose threads.
6435 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6436 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6437 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6438 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6439 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6440 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6441 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6442 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6443 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6444 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6445 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6447 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6448 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6449 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6452 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6453 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6454 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6455 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6456 simplification is used.
6458 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6459 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6460 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6461 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6463 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6465 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6471 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6472 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6473 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6474 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6479 (mapconcat 'identity
6480 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6482 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6485 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6488 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6489 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6490 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6491 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6492 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6493 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6495 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6498 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6499 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6500 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6502 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6503 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6506 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6507 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6508 Remove excessive whitespace.
6510 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6511 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6512 Remove all whitespace.
6515 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6518 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6519 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6520 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6521 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6522 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6523 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6524 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6525 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6527 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6528 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6529 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6530 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6531 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6532 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6533 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6534 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6535 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6539 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6540 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6541 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6542 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6544 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6545 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6546 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6549 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6553 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6554 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6560 @node Filling In Threads
6561 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6564 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6565 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6566 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6567 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6568 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6569 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6570 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6571 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6572 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6573 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6574 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6575 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6578 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6579 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6580 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6582 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6583 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6584 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6585 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6586 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6587 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6588 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6589 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6590 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6591 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6592 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6593 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6594 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6595 @code{nil} by default.
6597 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6598 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6599 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6600 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6601 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6602 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6603 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6605 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6606 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6607 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6612 @node More Threading
6613 @subsubsection More Threading
6616 @item gnus-show-threads
6617 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6618 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6619 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6620 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6621 slower and more awkward.
6623 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6624 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6625 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6628 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6629 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6630 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6635 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6636 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6637 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6640 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6641 unread, but you get my drift.)
6644 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6645 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6646 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6647 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6648 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6649 threads are expunged.
6651 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6652 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6653 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6656 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6657 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6658 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6659 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6660 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6661 result in a new thread.
6663 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6664 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6665 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6668 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6669 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6670 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6671 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6672 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6673 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6674 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6675 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6676 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6677 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6678 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6683 @node Low-Level Threading
6684 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6688 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6689 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6690 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6692 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6693 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6694 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6695 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6696 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6697 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6698 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6699 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6700 meaningful. Here's one example:
6703 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6705 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6706 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6708 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6710 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6717 @node Thread Commands
6718 @subsection Thread Commands
6719 @cindex thread commands
6725 @kindex T k (Summary)
6726 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6728 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6729 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6730 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6735 @kindex T l (Summary)
6736 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6737 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6738 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6739 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6742 @kindex T i (Summary)
6743 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6744 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6745 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6748 @kindex T # (Summary)
6749 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6750 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6751 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6754 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6755 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6756 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6757 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6760 @kindex T T (Summary)
6761 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6762 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6765 @kindex T s (Summary)
6766 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6767 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6768 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6771 @kindex T h (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6773 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6776 @kindex T S (Summary)
6777 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6778 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6781 @kindex T H (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6783 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6786 @kindex T t (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6788 Re-thread the current article's thread
6789 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6790 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6793 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6794 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6795 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6796 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6800 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6801 understand the numeric prefix.
6806 @kindex T n (Summary)
6808 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6810 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6811 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6812 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6815 @kindex T p (Summary)
6817 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6819 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6820 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6821 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6824 @kindex T d (Summary)
6825 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6826 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6829 @kindex T u (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6831 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6834 @kindex T o (Summary)
6835 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6836 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6839 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6840 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6841 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6842 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6843 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6844 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6845 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6846 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6847 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6848 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6849 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6850 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6854 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6855 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6857 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6858 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6859 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6860 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6861 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6862 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6863 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6864 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6865 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6866 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6867 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6868 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6869 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6871 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6872 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6873 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6874 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6875 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6876 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6877 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6878 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6880 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6881 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6882 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6884 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6885 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6886 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6887 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6888 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6889 ascending article order.
6891 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6892 by number, you could do something like:
6895 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6896 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6897 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6898 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6901 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6902 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6903 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6904 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6905 which the articles arrived.
6907 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6911 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6913 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6914 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6917 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6918 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6919 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6920 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6923 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6924 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6925 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6926 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6927 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6928 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6929 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6930 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6931 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6932 variable. It is very similar to the
6933 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6934 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6935 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6936 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6937 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6938 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6939 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6941 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6945 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6946 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6947 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6952 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6953 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6954 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6955 @cindex article pre-fetch
6958 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6959 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6960 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6961 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6962 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6964 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6965 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6967 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6968 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6969 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6970 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6971 connection is blocked.
6973 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6974 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6975 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6976 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6978 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6979 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6980 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6981 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6984 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
6987 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6988 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6989 happen automatically.
6991 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6992 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6993 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6994 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6995 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6996 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6997 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6999 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7000 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7001 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7002 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7003 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7004 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7005 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7006 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7007 article data structure as the only parameter.
7009 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7010 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7013 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7014 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7015 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7016 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7019 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7022 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7023 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7024 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7026 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7027 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7028 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7029 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7033 Remove articles when they are read.
7036 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7039 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7041 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7042 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7043 @c from the next group.
7046 @node Article Caching
7047 @section Article Caching
7048 @cindex article caching
7051 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7052 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7053 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7054 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7055 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7057 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7059 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7060 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7061 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7062 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7063 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7064 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7065 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7066 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7068 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7069 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7070 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7071 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7072 as dormant, and don't worry.
7074 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7076 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7077 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7078 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7079 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7080 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7081 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7082 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7083 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7084 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7085 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7087 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7088 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7089 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7090 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7091 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7092 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7093 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7094 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7095 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7096 not then be downloaded by this command.
7098 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7099 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7100 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7101 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7102 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7103 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7105 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7106 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7107 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7108 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7109 variables, the group is not cached.
7111 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7112 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7113 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7114 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7115 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7116 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7117 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7118 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7119 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7122 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7123 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7124 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7125 where, isn't that cool?
7127 @node Persistent Articles
7128 @section Persistent Articles
7129 @cindex persistent articles
7131 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7132 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7133 useful in my opinion.
7135 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7136 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7137 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7138 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7139 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7140 the expiry going on at the news server.
7142 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7143 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7144 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7150 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7151 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7154 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7156 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7157 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7161 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7163 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7164 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7165 interested in persistent articles:
7168 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7172 @node Article Backlog
7173 @section Article Backlog
7175 @cindex article backlog
7177 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7178 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7179 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7180 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7181 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7182 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7183 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7184 increase memory usage some.
7186 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7187 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7188 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7189 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7190 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7191 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7192 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7194 The default value is 20.
7197 @node Saving Articles
7198 @section Saving Articles
7199 @cindex saving articles
7201 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7202 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7203 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7204 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7205 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7207 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7208 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7209 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7211 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7212 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7213 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7215 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7216 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7217 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7218 deleted before saving.
7224 @kindex O o (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7227 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7228 Save the current article using the default article saver
7229 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7232 @kindex O m (Summary)
7233 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7234 Save the current article in mail format
7235 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7238 @kindex O r (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7240 Save the current article in rmail format
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7244 @kindex O f (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7246 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7247 Save the current article in plain file format
7248 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7251 @kindex O F (Summary)
7252 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7253 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7254 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7257 @kindex O b (Summary)
7258 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7259 Save the current article body in plain file format
7260 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7263 @kindex O h (Summary)
7264 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7265 Save the current article in mh folder format
7266 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7269 @kindex O v (Summary)
7270 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7271 Save the current article in a VM folder
7272 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7276 @kindex O p (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7279 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7280 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7281 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7282 complete headers in the piped output.
7285 @kindex O P (Summary)
7286 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7287 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7288 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7289 external program Muttprint (see
7290 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7291 options to use is controlled by the variable
7292 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7296 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7297 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7298 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7299 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7300 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7301 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7302 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7303 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7304 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7305 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7306 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7307 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7311 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7312 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7313 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7314 functions below, or you can create your own.
7318 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7319 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7320 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7321 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7322 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7323 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7324 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7326 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7327 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7328 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7329 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7330 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7331 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7333 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7334 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7335 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7336 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7337 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7338 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7339 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7341 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7342 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7343 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7344 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7345 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7346 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7348 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7349 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7350 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7351 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7352 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7354 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7355 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7356 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7357 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7358 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7361 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7362 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7363 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7364 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7365 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7367 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7368 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7369 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7370 reader to use this setting.
7373 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7374 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7375 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7376 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7379 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7380 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7381 available functions that generate names:
7385 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7386 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7387 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7389 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7390 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7391 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7393 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7394 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7395 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7397 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7398 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7399 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7401 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7402 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7403 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7406 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7407 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7408 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7409 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7410 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7414 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7415 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7416 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7417 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7420 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7421 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7422 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7423 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7424 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7425 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7426 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7427 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7428 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7430 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7431 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7432 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7433 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7435 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7436 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7437 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7440 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7441 lots of mail groups called things like
7442 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7443 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7444 following will do just that:
7447 (defun my-save-name (group)
7448 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7449 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7451 (setq gnus-split-methods
7452 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7457 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7458 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7459 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7460 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7461 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7462 all the files in the top level directory
7463 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7464 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7465 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7466 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7468 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7469 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7470 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7471 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7472 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7475 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7479 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7480 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7481 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7484 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7485 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7486 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7487 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7490 @node Decoding Articles
7491 @section Decoding Articles
7492 @cindex decoding articles
7494 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7495 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7498 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7499 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7500 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7501 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7502 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7503 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7507 @cindex article series
7508 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7509 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7510 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7511 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7512 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7514 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7515 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7516 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7518 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7519 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7520 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7522 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7523 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7524 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7527 @node Uuencoded Articles
7528 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7530 @cindex uuencoded articles
7535 @kindex X u (Summary)
7536 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7537 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7538 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7541 @kindex X U (Summary)
7542 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7543 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7544 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7547 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7548 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7549 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7552 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7553 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7554 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7555 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7559 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7560 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7561 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7562 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7563 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7565 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7566 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7567 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7568 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7571 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7572 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7573 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7574 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7575 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7576 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7580 @node Shell Archives
7581 @subsection Shell Archives
7583 @cindex shell archives
7584 @cindex shared articles
7586 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7587 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7588 some commands to deal with these:
7593 @kindex X s (Summary)
7594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7595 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7598 @kindex X S (Summary)
7599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7600 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7603 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7604 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7605 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7608 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7609 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7610 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7611 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7615 @node PostScript Files
7616 @subsection PostScript Files
7622 @kindex X p (Summary)
7623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7624 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7627 @kindex X P (Summary)
7628 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7629 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7630 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7633 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7635 View the current PostScript series
7636 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7639 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7641 View and save the current PostScript series
7642 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7647 @subsection Other Files
7651 @kindex X o (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7653 Save the current series
7654 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7657 @kindex X b (Summary)
7658 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7659 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7660 doesn't really work yet.
7664 @node Decoding Variables
7665 @subsection Decoding Variables
7667 Adjective, not verb.
7670 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7671 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7672 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7676 @node Rule Variables
7677 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7678 @cindex rule variables
7680 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7681 variables are of the form
7684 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7691 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7692 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7694 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7695 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7698 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7699 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7702 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7703 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7704 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7705 user and default view rules.
7707 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7708 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7709 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7714 @node Other Decode Variables
7715 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7718 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7720 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7721 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7722 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7723 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7724 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7728 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7729 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7732 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7733 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7734 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7737 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7738 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7739 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7740 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7741 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7744 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7745 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7746 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7748 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7750 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7751 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7752 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7755 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7756 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7757 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7759 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7760 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7761 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7762 looking for files to display.
7764 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7765 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7766 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7769 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7770 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7771 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7774 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7775 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7776 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7779 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7780 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7781 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7784 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7785 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7786 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7787 decoded articles as unread.
7789 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7790 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7791 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7792 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7794 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7795 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7796 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7798 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7799 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7801 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7802 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7803 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7804 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7806 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7807 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7808 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7809 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7810 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7811 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7812 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7813 simply dropped them.
7818 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7819 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7823 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7824 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7825 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7826 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7827 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7828 for you when you post the article.
7830 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7832 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7833 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7835 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7836 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7837 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7838 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7839 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7840 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7841 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7843 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7844 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7845 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7846 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7847 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7848 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7849 Default is @code{t}.
7855 @subsection Viewing Files
7856 @cindex viewing files
7857 @cindex pseudo-articles
7859 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7860 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7861 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7862 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7863 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7864 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7865 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7867 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7868 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7869 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7870 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7872 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7873 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7874 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7876 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7877 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7878 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7879 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7880 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7882 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7883 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7884 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7885 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7886 a list of parameters to that command.
7888 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7889 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7890 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7892 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7893 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7894 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7897 @node Article Treatment
7898 @section Article Treatment
7900 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7901 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7902 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7903 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7904 these articles easier.
7907 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7908 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7909 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7910 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7911 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7912 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7913 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7914 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7915 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7916 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7920 @node Article Highlighting
7921 @subsection Article Highlighting
7922 @cindex highlighting
7924 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7925 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7930 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7931 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7932 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7933 Do much highlighting of the current article
7934 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7935 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7938 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7939 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7940 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7941 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7942 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7943 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7944 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7945 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7946 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7947 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7948 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7949 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7952 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7954 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7956 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7959 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7961 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7962 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7963 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7965 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7966 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7967 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7969 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7970 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7971 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7972 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7973 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7974 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7976 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7977 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7978 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7980 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7981 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7982 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7984 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7985 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7986 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7987 that it's a citation.
7989 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7990 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7991 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7993 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7994 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7995 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7997 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7998 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7999 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8000 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8006 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8007 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8008 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8009 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8010 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8011 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8012 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8013 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8018 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8021 @node Article Fontisizing
8022 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8024 @cindex article emphasis
8026 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8027 @kindex W e (Summary)
8028 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8029 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8030 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8031 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8033 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8034 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8035 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8036 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8037 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8038 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8039 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8040 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8044 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8045 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8046 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8057 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8058 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8059 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8060 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8061 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8062 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8063 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8064 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8065 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8066 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8067 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8069 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8070 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8071 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8075 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8078 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8080 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8081 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8082 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8083 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8085 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8088 @node Article Hiding
8089 @subsection Article Hiding
8090 @cindex article hiding
8092 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8093 too much cruft in most articles.
8098 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8099 @findex gnus-article-hide
8100 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8101 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8102 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8105 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8106 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8107 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8111 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8112 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8113 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8114 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8117 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8118 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8119 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8123 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8124 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8125 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8126 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8127 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8128 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8129 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8130 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8134 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8135 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8136 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8137 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8142 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8143 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8144 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8145 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8148 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8149 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8150 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8151 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8154 @cindex stripping advertisements
8155 @cindex advertisements
8156 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8157 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8158 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8159 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8160 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8161 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8162 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8163 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8164 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8165 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8168 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8169 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8170 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8174 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8175 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8176 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8177 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8178 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8179 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8180 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8181 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8182 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8183 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8184 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8187 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8193 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8194 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8195 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8196 customizing the hiding:
8200 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8201 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8202 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8203 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8204 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8205 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8206 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8211 Starting point of the hidden text.
8213 Ending point of the hidden text.
8215 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8217 Number of lines of hidden text.
8220 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8221 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8222 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8223 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8224 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8229 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8230 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8232 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8233 following two variables:
8236 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8237 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8238 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8239 50), hide the cited text.
8241 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8242 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8243 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8248 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8249 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8250 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8251 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8252 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8253 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8257 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8258 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8259 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8261 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8262 citation customization.
8264 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8268 @node Article Washing
8269 @subsection Article Washing
8271 @cindex article washing
8273 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8274 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8276 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8277 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8280 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8281 articles by default.
8286 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8287 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8291 Force redisplaying of the current article
8292 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8293 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8294 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8295 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8298 @kindex W l (Summary)
8299 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8300 Remove page breaks from the current article
8301 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8305 @kindex W r (Summary)
8306 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8307 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8308 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8309 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8310 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8311 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8313 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8314 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8315 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8316 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8319 @kindex W m (Summary)
8320 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8321 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8325 @kindex W t (Summary)
8327 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8328 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8329 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8332 @kindex W v (Summary)
8333 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8334 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8335 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8338 @kindex W o (Summary)
8339 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8340 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8343 @kindex W d (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8345 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8347 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8349 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8350 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8351 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8352 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8355 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8356 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8357 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8358 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8361 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8363 @cindex Outlook Express
8364 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8365 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8366 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8369 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8370 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8371 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8372 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8373 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8374 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8375 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8376 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8377 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8378 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8381 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8382 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8383 Repair a broken attribution line.
8384 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8387 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8389 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8390 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8393 @kindex W w (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8395 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8397 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8401 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8402 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8403 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8406 @kindex W C (Summary)
8407 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8408 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8409 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8412 @kindex W c (Summary)
8413 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8414 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8415 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8416 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8417 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8420 @kindex W q (Summary)
8421 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8422 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8423 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8424 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8425 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8426 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8427 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8428 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8429 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8432 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8433 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8434 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8435 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8436 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8437 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8438 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8440 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8443 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8444 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8445 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8446 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8447 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8450 @kindex W u (Summary)
8451 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8452 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8453 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8454 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8455 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8458 @kindex W h (Summary)
8459 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8460 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8461 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8462 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8464 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8466 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8467 The default is to use the function specified by
8468 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8469 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8470 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8471 you can use include:
8478 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8482 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8485 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8488 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8493 @kindex W b (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8495 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8496 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8499 @kindex W B (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8501 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8502 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8505 @kindex W p (Summary)
8506 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8507 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8508 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8509 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8510 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8511 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8512 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8515 @kindex W s (Summary)
8516 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8517 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8518 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8521 @kindex W a (Summary)
8522 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8523 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8524 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8527 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8529 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8530 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8533 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8535 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8536 lines with a single empty line.
8537 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8540 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8541 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8542 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8543 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8546 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8548 Do all the three commands above
8549 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8552 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8553 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8554 Remove all blank lines
8555 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8558 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8559 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8560 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8561 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8564 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8566 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8567 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8571 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8574 @node Article Header
8575 @subsection Article Header
8577 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8582 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8583 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8584 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8587 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8588 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8589 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8590 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8593 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8594 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8595 Fold all the message headers
8596 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8600 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8601 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8602 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8607 @node Article Buttons
8608 @subsection Article Buttons
8611 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8612 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8613 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8614 button on these references.
8616 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8617 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8618 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8619 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8620 one that handles article heads:
8624 @item gnus-button-alist
8625 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8626 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8629 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8635 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8636 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8637 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8638 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8639 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8642 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8643 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8644 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8647 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8648 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8649 avoid false matches.
8652 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8655 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8656 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8660 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8663 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8666 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8667 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8668 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8669 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8670 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8673 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8676 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8678 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8679 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8680 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8681 default values of the variables above.
8683 @item gnus-article-button-face
8684 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8685 Face used on buttons.
8687 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8688 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8689 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8693 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8697 @subsection Article Date
8699 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8700 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8701 when the article was sent.
8706 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8707 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8708 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8709 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8712 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8713 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8715 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8716 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8719 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8720 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8721 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8724 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8725 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8726 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8727 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8730 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8731 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8732 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8733 @findex format-time-string
8734 Display the date using a user-defined format
8735 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8736 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8737 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8738 for a list of possible format specs.
8741 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8742 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8743 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8744 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8745 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8746 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8749 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8752 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8753 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8754 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8757 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8758 into wonderful absurdities.
8760 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8763 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8766 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8767 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8771 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8772 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8773 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8774 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8775 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8776 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8777 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8781 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8782 preferred format automatically.
8785 @node Article Display
8786 @subsection Article Display
8791 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8792 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8794 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8795 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8797 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8798 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8800 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8801 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8803 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8808 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8809 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8810 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8811 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8814 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8815 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8816 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8817 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8820 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8821 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8822 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8825 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8826 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8827 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8830 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8831 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8832 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8833 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8836 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8837 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8838 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8839 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8842 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8843 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8844 Remove all images from the article buffer
8845 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8851 @node Article Signature
8852 @subsection Article Signature
8854 @cindex article signature
8856 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8857 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8858 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8859 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8860 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8861 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8862 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8863 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8864 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8867 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8868 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8869 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8870 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8871 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8872 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8873 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8874 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8877 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8880 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8881 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8882 signature when displaying articles.
8886 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8889 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8892 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8893 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8895 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8896 in question is not a signature.
8899 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8900 listed above. Here's an example:
8903 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8904 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8907 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8908 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8909 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8910 signature after all.
8913 @node Article Miscellania
8914 @subsection Article Miscellania
8918 @kindex A t (Summary)
8919 @findex gnus-article-babel
8920 Translate the article from one language to another
8921 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8927 @section MIME Commands
8928 @cindex MIME decoding
8930 @cindex viewing attachments
8932 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8933 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8939 @kindex K v (Summary)
8940 View the @sc{mime} part.
8943 @kindex K o (Summary)
8944 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8947 @kindex K c (Summary)
8948 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8951 @kindex K e (Summary)
8952 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8955 @kindex K i (Summary)
8956 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8959 @kindex K | (Summary)
8960 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8963 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8968 @kindex K b (Summary)
8969 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8970 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8974 @kindex K m (Summary)
8975 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8976 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8977 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8978 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8979 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8982 @kindex X m (Summary)
8983 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8984 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8985 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8986 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8989 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8990 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8991 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8992 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8995 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8996 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8997 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8998 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9001 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9002 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9003 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9004 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9006 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9007 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9008 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9009 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9010 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9011 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9014 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9015 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9016 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9017 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9024 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9025 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9026 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9027 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9030 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9033 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9037 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9038 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9039 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9040 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9041 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9042 default is @code{nil}.
9044 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9045 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9046 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9047 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9048 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9049 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9050 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9052 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9053 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9054 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9055 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9056 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9057 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9058 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9059 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9061 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9062 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9063 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9064 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9065 displayed. This variable overrides
9066 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9067 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9070 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9071 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9072 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9074 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9075 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9076 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9077 value is @code{nil}.
9079 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9080 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9081 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9082 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9083 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9084 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9085 save all jpegs into some directory).
9087 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9090 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9091 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9093 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9094 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9095 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9096 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9097 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9100 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9101 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9102 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9104 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9105 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9106 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9107 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9109 Ready-made functions include@*
9110 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9111 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9112 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9113 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9114 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9115 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9116 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9117 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9118 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9119 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9120 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9121 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9123 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9124 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9126 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9127 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9128 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9131 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9132 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9133 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9134 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9138 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9147 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9148 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9149 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9150 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9151 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9152 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9153 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9155 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9156 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9157 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9158 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9160 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9161 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9162 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9163 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9164 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9165 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9166 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9167 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9168 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9170 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9171 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9172 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9173 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9174 quoted-printable header encoding.
9176 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9177 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9178 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9182 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9185 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9186 means encode all charsets),
9188 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9189 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9190 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9197 @cindex coding system aliases
9198 @cindex preferred charset
9200 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9202 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9203 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9206 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9207 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9210 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9211 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9213 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9216 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9219 This will almost do the right thing.
9221 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9225 (codepage-setup 1251)
9226 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9230 @node Article Commands
9231 @section Article Commands
9238 @kindex A P (Summary)
9239 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9240 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9241 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9242 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9243 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9244 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9249 @node Summary Sorting
9250 @section Summary Sorting
9251 @cindex summary sorting
9253 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9254 can't really see why you'd want that.
9259 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9260 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9261 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9264 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9265 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9266 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9269 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9270 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9271 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9274 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9275 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9276 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9279 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9280 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9281 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9284 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9285 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9286 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9289 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9290 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9291 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9294 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9295 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9296 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9299 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9300 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9301 Sort using the default sorting method
9302 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9305 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9306 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9307 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9308 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9309 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9313 @node Finding the Parent
9314 @section Finding the Parent
9315 @cindex parent articles
9316 @cindex referring articles
9321 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9322 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9323 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9324 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9325 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9326 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9327 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9328 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9329 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9331 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9332 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9333 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9334 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9335 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9339 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9340 @kindex A R (Summary)
9341 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9342 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9345 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9346 @kindex A T (Summary)
9347 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9348 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9349 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9350 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9351 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9352 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9353 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9355 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9356 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9357 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9358 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9359 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9360 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9363 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9364 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9366 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9367 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9368 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9369 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9370 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9371 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9372 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9375 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9376 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9377 by giving this command a prefix.
9379 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9380 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9381 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9382 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9383 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9384 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9387 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9388 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9389 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9392 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9393 then ask Google if that fails:
9396 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9398 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9401 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9402 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9403 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9404 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9405 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9406 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9407 support this at all.
9410 @node Alternative Approaches
9411 @section Alternative Approaches
9413 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9414 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9417 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9418 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9423 @subsection Pick and Read
9424 @cindex pick and read
9426 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9427 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9428 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9429 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9431 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9432 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9433 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9434 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9435 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9436 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9438 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9443 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9444 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9445 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9446 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9447 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9448 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9449 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9450 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9453 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9454 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9455 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9456 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9460 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9461 Unpick the thread or article
9462 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9463 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9464 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9465 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9466 the thread or article at that line.
9470 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9471 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9472 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9473 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9474 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9475 will still be visible when you are reading.
9479 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9480 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9481 which is mapped to the same function
9482 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9484 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9487 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9490 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9491 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9493 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9494 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9495 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9497 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9498 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9499 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9500 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9501 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9502 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9503 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9507 @subsection Binary Groups
9508 @cindex binary groups
9510 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9511 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9512 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9513 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9514 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9515 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9516 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9519 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9520 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9521 command, when you have turned on this mode
9522 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9524 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9525 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9529 @section Tree Display
9532 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9533 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9534 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9535 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9538 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9541 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9542 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9543 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9545 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9546 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9547 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9548 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9549 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9551 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9552 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9553 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9554 default is @code{modeline}.
9556 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9557 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9558 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9559 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9560 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9561 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9562 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9568 The name of the poster.
9570 The @code{From} header.
9572 The number of the article.
9574 The opening bracket.
9576 The closing bracket.
9581 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9583 Variables related to the display are:
9586 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9587 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9588 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9589 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9590 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9591 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9593 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9594 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9595 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9596 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9600 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9601 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9602 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9603 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9604 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9605 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9606 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9607 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9608 other windows displayed next to it.
9610 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9614 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9615 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9618 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9619 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9620 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9621 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9622 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9623 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9624 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9628 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9631 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9641 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9645 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9646 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9648 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9650 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9655 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9656 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9657 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9660 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9661 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9662 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9663 (gnus-add-configuration
9667 (summary 0.75 point)
9672 @xref{Window Layout}.
9675 @node Mail Group Commands
9676 @section Mail Group Commands
9677 @cindex mail group commands
9679 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9680 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9682 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9683 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9688 @kindex B e (Summary)
9689 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9690 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9691 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9692 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9693 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9696 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9697 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9698 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9699 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9700 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9701 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9704 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9705 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9707 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9708 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9709 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9712 @kindex B m (Summary)
9714 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9715 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9716 Move the article from one mail group to another
9717 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9718 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9721 @kindex B c (Summary)
9723 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9724 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9725 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9726 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9727 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9730 @kindex B B (Summary)
9731 @cindex crosspost mail
9732 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9733 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9734 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9735 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9736 be properly updated.
9739 @kindex B i (Summary)
9740 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9741 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9742 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9743 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9746 @kindex B I (Summary)
9747 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9748 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9749 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9750 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9753 @kindex B r (Summary)
9754 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9755 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9756 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9757 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9758 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9759 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9760 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9761 (which is the default).
9765 @kindex B w (Summary)
9767 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9768 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9769 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9770 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9771 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9772 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9773 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9776 @kindex B q (Summary)
9777 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9778 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9779 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9780 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9783 @kindex B t (Summary)
9784 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9785 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9786 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9789 @kindex B p (Summary)
9790 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9791 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9792 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9793 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9794 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9795 article from your news server (or rather, from
9796 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9797 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9798 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9799 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9800 just not have arrived yet.
9803 @kindex K E (Summary)
9804 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9805 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9806 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9807 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9808 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9812 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9813 @cindex moving articles
9814 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9815 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9816 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9817 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9818 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9819 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9820 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9823 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9824 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9825 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9826 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9830 @node Various Summary Stuff
9831 @section Various Summary Stuff
9834 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9835 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9836 * Summary Generation Commands::
9837 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9841 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9842 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9843 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9844 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9845 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9846 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9848 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9849 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9850 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9852 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9853 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9854 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9855 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9856 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9857 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9860 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9861 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9862 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9863 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9864 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9866 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9867 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9868 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9871 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9872 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9873 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9874 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9875 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9876 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9877 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9878 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9879 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9880 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9882 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9883 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9884 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9885 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9886 list of articles to be selected.
9888 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9889 the list in one particular group:
9892 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9893 (if (string= group "some.group")
9894 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9898 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9899 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9900 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9901 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9902 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9903 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9904 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9905 buffers. For example:
9908 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9909 '(message-use-followup-to
9910 (gnus-visible-headers .
9911 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9917 @node Summary Group Information
9918 @subsection Summary Group Information
9923 @kindex H f (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9925 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9926 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9927 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9928 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9929 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9930 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9931 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9932 be used for fetching the file.
9935 @kindex H d (Summary)
9936 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9937 Give a brief description of the current group
9938 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9939 rereading the description from the server.
9942 @kindex H h (Summary)
9943 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9944 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9945 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9948 @kindex H i (Summary)
9949 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9950 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9954 @node Searching for Articles
9955 @subsection Searching for Articles
9960 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9961 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9962 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9963 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9966 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9967 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9968 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9969 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9973 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9974 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9975 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9976 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9977 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9978 search backward instead.
9980 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9981 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9984 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9985 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9986 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9987 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9990 @node Summary Generation Commands
9991 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9996 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9997 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9998 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10001 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10002 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10003 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10004 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10007 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10008 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10009 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10010 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10015 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10016 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10022 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10023 @kindex A D (Summary)
10024 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10025 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10026 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10027 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10028 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10029 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10030 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10031 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10035 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10036 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10037 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10038 several documents into one biiig group
10039 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10040 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10041 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10042 command understands the process/prefix convention
10043 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10046 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10047 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10048 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10049 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10050 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10051 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10054 @kindex = (Summary)
10055 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10056 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10057 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10060 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10061 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10062 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10063 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10066 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10067 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10068 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10069 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10074 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10075 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10076 @cindex summary exit
10077 @cindex exiting groups
10079 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10080 group and return you to the group buffer.
10086 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10087 @kindex q (Summary)
10088 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10089 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10090 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10091 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10092 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10093 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10094 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10095 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10096 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10097 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10098 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10099 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10103 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10104 @kindex Q (Summary)
10105 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10106 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10107 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10111 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10112 @kindex c (Summary)
10113 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10114 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10115 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10116 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10119 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10120 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10121 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10122 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10125 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10126 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10127 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10128 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10131 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10132 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10133 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10134 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10135 all articles, both read and unread.
10139 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10140 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10141 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10142 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10143 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10144 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10145 articles, both read and unread.
10148 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10149 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10150 Exit the group and go to the next group
10151 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10154 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10155 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10156 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10157 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10160 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10161 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10162 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10163 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10164 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10165 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10168 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10169 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10170 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10171 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10173 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10174 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10175 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10176 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10177 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10178 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10179 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10180 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10181 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10182 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10183 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10184 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10186 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10188 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10189 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10190 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10191 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10192 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10193 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10194 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10195 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10196 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10199 @node Crosspost Handling
10200 @section Crosspost Handling
10204 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10205 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10206 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10207 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10208 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10209 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10212 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10213 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10214 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10215 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10216 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10218 @cindex cross-posting
10221 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10222 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10223 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10224 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10225 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10226 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10227 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10228 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10229 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10230 the cross reference mechanism.
10232 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10233 @cindex overview.fmt
10234 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10235 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10236 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10237 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10238 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10239 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10242 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10243 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10244 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10249 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10252 @node Duplicate Suppression
10253 @section Duplicate Suppression
10255 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10256 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10257 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10258 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10263 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10264 is evil and not very common.
10267 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10268 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10271 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10272 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10275 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10278 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10279 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10281 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10282 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10283 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10284 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10285 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10286 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10287 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10290 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10291 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10292 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10293 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10294 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10295 saw the article in.
10298 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10299 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10300 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10302 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10303 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10304 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10305 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10306 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10307 session are suppressed.
10309 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10310 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10311 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10312 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10314 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10315 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10316 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10317 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10320 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10321 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10322 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10323 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10324 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10325 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10326 to you to figure out, I think.
10331 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10332 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10333 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10337 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10338 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10339 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10340 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10343 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10344 or newer is recommended.
10348 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10349 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10352 @item mm-verify-option
10353 @vindex mm-verify-option
10354 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10355 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10356 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10358 @item mm-decrypt-option
10359 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10360 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10361 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10362 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10365 @vindex mml1991-use
10366 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10367 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10368 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10371 @vindex mml2015-use
10372 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10373 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10374 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10379 @section Mailing List
10381 @kindex A M (summary)
10382 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10383 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10384 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10385 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10388 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10393 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10394 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10395 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10398 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10399 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10400 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10403 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10404 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10405 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10409 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10410 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10411 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10414 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10415 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10416 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10419 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10420 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10421 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10425 @node Article Buffer
10426 @chapter Article Buffer
10427 @cindex article buffer
10429 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10430 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10431 tell Gnus otherwise.
10434 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10435 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10436 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10437 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10438 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10442 @node Hiding Headers
10443 @section Hiding Headers
10444 @cindex hiding headers
10445 @cindex deleting headers
10447 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10448 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10450 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10451 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10452 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10453 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10454 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10455 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10456 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10457 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10458 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10460 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10464 @item gnus-visible-headers
10465 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10466 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10467 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10468 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10470 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10471 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10474 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10477 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10480 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10481 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10482 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10483 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10484 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10485 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10487 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10488 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10491 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10494 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10497 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10498 variable will have no effect.
10502 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10503 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10504 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10505 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10506 the headers are to be displayed.
10508 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10509 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10512 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10515 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10516 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10518 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10519 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10520 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10521 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10522 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10523 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10524 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10527 These conditions are:
10530 Remove all empty headers.
10532 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10533 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10535 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10536 @code{From} header.
10538 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10541 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10542 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10544 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10545 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10547 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10548 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10550 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10553 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10555 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10558 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10561 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10562 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10565 This is also the default value for this variable.
10569 @section Using MIME
10572 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10573 while people stand around yawning.
10575 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10576 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10578 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10579 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10580 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10582 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10583 @findex gnus-display-mime
10584 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10585 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10586 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10587 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10589 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10593 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10594 @item RET (Article)
10595 @kindex RET (Article)
10596 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10597 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10598 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10599 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10600 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10601 object is displayed inline.
10603 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10604 @item M-RET (Article)
10605 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10607 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10608 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10610 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10612 @kindex t (Article)
10613 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10614 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10616 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10618 @kindex C (Article)
10619 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10620 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10622 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10624 @kindex o (Article)
10625 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10626 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10628 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10629 @item C-o (Article)
10630 @kindex C-o (Article)
10631 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10632 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10633 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10634 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10635 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10636 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10638 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
10640 @kindex d (Article)
10641 Delete the @sc{mime} object from the article and replace it with some
10642 information about the removed @sc{mime} object
10643 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
10645 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10647 @kindex c (Article)
10648 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10649 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10650 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10651 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10652 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10654 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10656 @kindex p (Article)
10657 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10658 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10659 @file{.mailcap} file.
10661 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10663 @kindex i (Article)
10664 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10665 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10666 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10667 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10668 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10671 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10673 @kindex E (Article)
10674 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10675 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10676 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10678 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10680 @kindex e (Article)
10681 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10682 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10684 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10686 @kindex | (Article)
10687 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10689 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10691 @kindex . (Article)
10692 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10693 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10697 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10698 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10701 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10702 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10703 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10704 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10705 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10706 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10707 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10708 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10709 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10711 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10713 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10716 @node Customizing Articles
10717 @section Customizing Articles
10718 @cindex article customization
10720 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10721 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10722 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10723 called automatically when you select the articles.
10725 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10726 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10727 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10728 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10730 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10731 for sensible values.
10735 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10738 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10741 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10744 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10747 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10751 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10752 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10753 regexps in the list.
10756 A list where the first element is not a string:
10758 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10759 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10760 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10764 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10769 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10770 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10771 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10772 considered to contain just a single part.
10774 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10775 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10776 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10777 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10778 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10779 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10780 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10782 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10783 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10784 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10785 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10788 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10789 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10791 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10793 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10794 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10795 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10796 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10797 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10798 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10799 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10800 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10801 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10802 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10804 @xref{Article Washing}.
10806 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10807 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10808 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10809 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10810 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10811 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10812 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10814 @xref{Article Date}.
10816 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10817 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10818 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10822 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10824 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10826 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10827 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10828 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10832 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10836 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10837 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10838 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10839 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10840 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10841 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10842 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10843 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10844 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
10845 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
10847 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10849 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10850 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10851 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10853 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10855 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10856 @item gnus-treat-translate
10857 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10859 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10860 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10861 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10862 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10864 @xref{Article Header}.
10869 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10870 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10871 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10872 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10873 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10877 @node Article Keymap
10878 @section Article Keymap
10880 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10881 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10882 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10883 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10886 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10891 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10892 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10893 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10894 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10897 @kindex DEL (Article)
10898 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10899 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10900 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
10903 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10904 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10905 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10906 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10907 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10910 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10911 @findex gnus-article-mail
10912 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10913 given a prefix, include the mail.
10916 @kindex s (Article)
10917 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10918 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10919 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10922 @kindex ? (Article)
10923 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10924 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10925 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10928 @kindex TAB (Article)
10929 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10930 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10931 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10934 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10935 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10936 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10939 @kindex R (Article)
10940 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10941 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10942 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10943 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10947 @kindex F (Article)
10948 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10949 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10950 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10951 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10959 @section Misc Article
10963 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10964 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10965 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10966 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10969 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10970 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10972 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10973 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10975 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10976 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10977 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10978 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10979 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10980 the contents of the article buffer.
10982 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10983 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10984 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10986 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10987 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10988 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10989 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10991 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10992 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10993 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10994 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10995 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10999 @cindex internationalized domain names
11000 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11001 @item gnus-use-idna
11002 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11003 internationalized domain names inside @sc{From:}, @sc{To:} and
11004 @sc{Cc:} headers. This requires GNU Libidn
11005 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}, and this variable is only
11006 enabled if you have installed it.
11011 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11012 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11013 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11018 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11021 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11024 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11025 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11026 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11029 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11032 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11035 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11040 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
11044 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11046 @item gnus-break-pages
11047 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11048 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11049 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11050 paging will not be done.
11052 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11053 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11054 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11059 @node Composing Messages
11060 @chapter Composing Messages
11061 @cindex composing messages
11064 @cindex sending mail
11069 @cindex using s/mime
11070 @cindex using smime
11072 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11073 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11074 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11075 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11076 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11077 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11080 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11081 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11082 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11083 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11084 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11085 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11086 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11087 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11090 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11091 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11097 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11100 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11101 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11102 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11103 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11104 @code{nil} include all headers.
11106 @item gnus-add-to-list
11107 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11108 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11109 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11111 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11112 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11113 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11114 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11115 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11116 confirmation is should be asked for.
11118 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11119 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11121 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11122 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11123 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11124 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11125 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11130 @node Posting Server
11131 @section Posting Server
11133 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11134 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11136 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11138 It can be quite complicated.
11140 @vindex gnus-post-method
11141 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11142 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11143 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11144 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11145 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11146 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11147 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11148 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11149 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11152 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11155 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11156 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11157 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11158 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11160 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11161 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11163 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11164 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11167 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11168 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11170 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11171 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11172 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11173 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11174 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11175 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11176 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11177 package correctly. An example:
11180 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11181 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11184 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11185 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11186 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11188 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11189 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11190 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11192 @node Mail and Post
11193 @section Mail and Post
11195 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11199 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11200 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11201 @cindex mailing lists
11203 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11204 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11205 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11206 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11207 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11208 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11209 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11210 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11211 still a pain, though.
11213 @item gnus-user-agent
11214 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11217 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11218 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11219 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11220 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11221 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11222 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11223 use a valid format, see RFC 2616."
11227 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11228 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11229 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11232 @findex ispell-message
11234 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11237 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11238 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11241 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11245 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11246 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11248 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11251 Modify to suit your needs.
11254 @node Archived Messages
11255 @section Archived Messages
11256 @cindex archived messages
11257 @cindex sent messages
11259 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11260 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11261 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11262 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11265 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11266 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11269 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11270 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11271 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11274 (nnfolder "archive"
11275 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11276 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11277 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11278 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11281 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11282 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11283 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11284 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11287 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11288 '(nnfolder "archive"
11289 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11290 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11291 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11294 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11296 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11297 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11298 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11300 This variable can be used to do the following:
11305 Messages will be saved in that group.
11307 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11308 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11309 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11310 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11311 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11312 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11313 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11314 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11318 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11320 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11321 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11324 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11329 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11331 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11334 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11336 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11339 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11341 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11342 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11343 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11344 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11347 More complex stuff:
11349 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11350 '((if (message-news-p)
11355 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11356 messages in one file per month:
11359 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11360 '((if (message-news-p)
11362 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11365 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11366 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11368 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11369 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11370 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11371 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11372 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11373 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11374 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11375 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11376 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11377 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11379 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11380 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11381 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11382 this will disable archiving.
11385 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11386 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11387 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11388 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11389 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11392 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11393 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11394 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11397 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11398 but the latter is the preferred method.
11400 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11401 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11402 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11404 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11405 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11406 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11407 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11408 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11409 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11410 changed in the future.
11415 @node Posting Styles
11416 @section Posting Styles
11417 @cindex posting styles
11420 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11422 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11423 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11424 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11427 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11428 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11429 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11430 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11431 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11436 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11437 (organization "What me?"))
11439 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11440 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11441 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11444 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11445 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11446 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11447 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11448 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11449 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11450 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11451 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11453 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11454 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11455 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11456 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11457 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11458 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11459 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11460 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11461 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11462 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11463 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11464 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11465 said to @dfn{match}.
11467 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11468 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11469 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11470 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11471 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11472 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11473 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11474 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11475 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11476 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11479 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11480 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11481 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11482 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11483 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11484 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11485 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11486 references chars lines xref extra.
11488 @vindex message-reply-headers
11490 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11491 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11492 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11494 @findex message-mail-p
11495 @findex message-news-p
11497 So here's a new example:
11500 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11502 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11504 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11505 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11507 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11508 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11509 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11510 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11511 (signature my-news-signature))
11512 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11513 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11514 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11515 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11516 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11517 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11518 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11519 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11520 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11521 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11523 (From (save-excursion
11524 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11525 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11527 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11530 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11531 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11532 if you fill many roles.
11539 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11540 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11541 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11542 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11543 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11545 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11546 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11547 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11548 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11549 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11553 @vindex nndraft-directory
11554 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11555 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11556 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11557 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11558 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11559 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11561 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11562 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11565 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11566 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11567 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11568 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11569 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11570 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11571 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11572 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11573 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11574 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11575 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11576 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11577 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11578 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11580 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11581 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11582 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11584 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11585 @kindex D e (Draft)
11586 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11587 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11588 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11590 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11593 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11594 @kindex D s (Draft)
11595 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11596 @kindex D S (Draft)
11597 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11598 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11599 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11600 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11601 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11604 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11605 @kindex D t (Draft)
11606 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11607 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11608 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11611 @node Rejected Articles
11612 @section Rejected Articles
11613 @cindex rejected articles
11615 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11616 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11617 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11618 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11620 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11621 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11622 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11623 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11624 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11626 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11627 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11628 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11630 @node Signing and encrypting
11631 @section Signing and encrypting
11633 @cindex using s/mime
11634 @cindex using smime
11636 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11637 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11638 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11639 (@pxref{Security}).
11641 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11642 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11643 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11644 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11645 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11646 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11647 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11648 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11649 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11650 automatically encrypted messages.
11652 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11653 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11654 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11659 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11660 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11662 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11665 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11666 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11668 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11671 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11672 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11674 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11677 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11678 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11680 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11683 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11684 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11686 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11689 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11690 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11692 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11695 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11696 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11697 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11701 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11703 @node Select Methods
11704 @chapter Select Methods
11705 @cindex foreign groups
11706 @cindex select methods
11708 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11709 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11710 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11711 personal mail group.
11713 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11714 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11715 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11716 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11717 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11718 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11720 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11721 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11723 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11726 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11727 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11728 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11729 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11730 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11732 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11735 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11736 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11737 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11738 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11739 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11740 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11741 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11742 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11746 @node Server Buffer
11747 @section Server Buffer
11749 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11750 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11751 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11752 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11753 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11754 back end represents a virtual server.
11756 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11757 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11758 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11759 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11761 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11762 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11763 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11764 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11765 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11766 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11767 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11769 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11770 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11773 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11774 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11775 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11776 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11777 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11778 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11779 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11782 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11783 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11786 @node Server Buffer Format
11787 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11788 @cindex server buffer format
11790 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11791 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11792 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11793 variable, with some simple extensions:
11798 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11801 The name of this server.
11804 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11807 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11810 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11811 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11812 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11813 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11823 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11826 @node Server Commands
11827 @subsection Server Commands
11828 @cindex server commands
11834 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11835 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11839 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11840 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11843 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11844 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11845 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11849 @findex gnus-server-exit
11850 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11854 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11855 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11859 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11860 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11864 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11865 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11869 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11870 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11874 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11875 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11876 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11881 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11882 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11883 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11884 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11889 @node Example Methods
11890 @subsection Example Methods
11892 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11895 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11898 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11904 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11905 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11908 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11909 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11911 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11912 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11916 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11919 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11920 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11922 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11923 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11924 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11928 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11931 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11934 Here's the method for a public spool:
11938 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11939 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11945 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11946 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11947 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11948 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11949 should probably look something like this:
11953 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11954 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11955 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11956 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11959 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11960 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11961 configuration to the example above:
11964 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11967 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11969 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11970 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11971 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11975 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11976 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11977 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11978 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11981 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11982 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11983 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11984 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11987 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11988 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11990 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11991 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11993 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11994 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11995 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11997 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11999 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12000 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12001 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12002 will contain the following:
12012 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12013 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12014 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12017 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12018 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12019 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12022 @node Server Variables
12023 @subsection Server Variables
12025 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12026 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12027 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12028 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12029 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12031 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12032 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12033 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12034 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12035 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12036 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12037 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12038 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12039 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12043 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12044 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12045 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12049 @node Servers and Methods
12050 @subsection Servers and Methods
12052 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12053 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12054 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12055 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12059 @node Unavailable Servers
12060 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12062 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12063 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12064 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12065 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12066 actually the case or not.
12068 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12069 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12070 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12071 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12072 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12073 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12074 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12075 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12077 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12078 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12080 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12081 with the following commands:
12087 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12088 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12089 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12093 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12094 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12095 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12099 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12100 Mark the current server as unreachable
12101 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12104 @kindex M-o (Server)
12105 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12106 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12107 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12110 @kindex M-c (Server)
12111 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12112 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12113 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12117 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12118 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12119 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12123 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12124 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12130 @section Getting News
12131 @cindex reading news
12132 @cindex news back ends
12134 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12135 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12136 or it can read from a local spool.
12139 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12140 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12148 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12149 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12150 server as the, uhm, address.
12152 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12153 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12154 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12155 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12157 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12158 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12159 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12161 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12166 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12167 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12168 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12170 @cindex authentification
12171 @cindex nntp authentification
12172 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12173 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12174 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12175 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12176 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12177 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12178 present in this hook.
12180 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12181 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12182 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12183 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12184 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12185 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12186 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12187 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12188 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12189 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12190 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12191 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12195 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12198 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12200 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12201 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12202 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12203 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12204 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12205 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12206 @samp{force} is explained below.
12210 Here's an example file:
12213 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12214 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12217 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12218 have to be first, for instance.
12220 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12221 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12222 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12223 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12224 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12225 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12226 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12228 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12229 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12235 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12236 previously mentioned.
12238 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12240 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12241 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12242 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12243 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12244 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12247 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12248 '(("innd" (ding))))
12251 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12253 The default value is
12256 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12257 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12258 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12261 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12262 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12264 @item nntp-maximum-request
12265 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12266 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12267 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12268 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12269 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12270 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12271 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12273 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12274 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12275 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12276 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12277 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12278 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12279 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12280 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12281 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12282 no timeouts are done.
12284 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12285 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12286 @c @cindex PPP connections
12287 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12288 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12289 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12290 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12291 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12292 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12293 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12294 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12295 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12296 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12298 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12299 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12300 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12301 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12302 @c described above.
12304 @item nntp-server-hook
12305 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12306 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12309 @item nntp-buggy-select
12310 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12311 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12313 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12314 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12315 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12316 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12319 @item nntp-xover-commands
12320 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12323 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12324 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12328 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12329 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12330 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12331 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12332 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12333 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12334 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12335 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12336 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12337 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12338 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12340 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12341 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12342 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12344 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12345 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12346 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12347 server closes connection.
12349 @item nntp-record-commands
12350 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12351 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12352 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12353 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12354 that doesn't seem to work.
12356 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12357 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12358 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12359 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12360 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12361 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12362 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12363 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12365 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12366 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12367 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12368 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12369 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12370 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12371 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12374 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12377 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12378 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12380 @item nntp-read-timeout
12381 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12382 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12383 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12384 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12385 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12391 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12392 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12393 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12397 @node Direct Functions
12398 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12399 @cindex direct connection functions
12401 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12402 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12403 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12404 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12407 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12408 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12409 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12412 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12413 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12414 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
12415 you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12416 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}. You then
12417 define a server as follows:
12420 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12422 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12423 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12425 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12426 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12427 (nntp-port-number 563)
12428 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12431 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12432 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12433 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12434 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12435 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12436 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12437 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12438 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12442 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12443 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12444 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12447 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12448 session, which is not a good idea.
12452 @node Indirect Functions
12453 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12454 @cindex indirect connection functions
12456 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12457 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12458 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12459 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12460 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12461 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12464 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12465 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12466 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12467 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12468 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12470 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12473 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12474 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12475 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12476 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12478 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12479 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12480 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12481 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12482 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12483 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12484 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12485 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12488 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12489 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12490 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12491 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12493 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12496 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12497 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12498 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12501 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12502 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12503 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12504 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12506 @item nntp-via-user-password
12507 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12508 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12510 @item nntp-via-envuser
12511 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12512 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12513 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12514 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12516 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12517 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12518 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12519 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12526 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12531 @item nntp-via-user-name
12532 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12533 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12535 @item nntp-via-address
12536 @vindex nntp-via-address
12537 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12542 @node Common Variables
12543 @subsubsection Common Variables
12545 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12546 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12551 @item nntp-pre-command
12552 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12553 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12554 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12555 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12556 wrapper for instance.
12559 @vindex nntp-address
12560 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12562 @item nntp-port-number
12563 @vindex nntp-port-number
12564 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12565 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12566 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12567 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12569 @item nntp-end-of-line
12570 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12571 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12572 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12573 using a non native connection function.
12575 @item nntp-telnet-command
12576 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12577 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12578 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12579 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12581 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12582 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12583 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12590 @subsection News Spool
12594 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12595 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12596 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12599 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12600 anything else) as the address.
12602 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12603 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12604 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12605 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12609 @item nnspool-inews-program
12610 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12611 Program used to post an article.
12613 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12614 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12615 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12617 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12618 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12619 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12620 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12622 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12623 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12624 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12625 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12627 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12628 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12629 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12631 @item nnspool-active-file
12632 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12633 The name of the active file.
12635 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12636 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12637 The name of the group descriptions file.
12639 @item nnspool-history-file
12640 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12641 The name of the news history file.
12643 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12644 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12645 The name of the active date file.
12647 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12648 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12649 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12652 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12653 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12655 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12656 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12657 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12663 @section Getting Mail
12664 @cindex reading mail
12667 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12671 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12672 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12673 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12674 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12675 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12676 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12677 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12678 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12679 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12680 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12681 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12682 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12683 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12687 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12688 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12690 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12691 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12692 of a culture shock.
12694 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12695 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12697 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12698 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12699 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12700 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12702 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12704 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12705 deleted? How awful!
12707 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12708 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12709 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12710 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12713 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12714 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12715 they want to treat a message.
12717 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12718 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12719 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12720 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12721 archived somewhere else.
12723 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12724 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12725 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12726 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12727 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12729 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12730 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12731 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12733 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12734 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12737 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12738 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12739 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12740 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12741 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12743 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12744 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12745 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12746 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12747 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12748 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12752 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12753 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12755 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12756 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12757 and things will happen automatically.
12759 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12760 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12763 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12766 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12767 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12768 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12769 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12770 like any other group.
12772 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12775 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12776 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12777 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12781 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12782 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12783 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12786 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12787 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12788 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12791 @node Splitting Mail
12792 @subsection Splitting Mail
12793 @cindex splitting mail
12794 @cindex mail splitting
12796 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12797 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12798 to be split into groups.
12801 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12802 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12803 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12804 ("mail.other" "")))
12807 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12808 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12809 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12810 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12811 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12812 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12813 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12816 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12819 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12820 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12821 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12822 mail belongs in that group.
12824 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12825 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
12826 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12827 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12828 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
12829 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
12831 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12832 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12833 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12834 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12835 thinks should carry this mail message.
12837 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12838 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12839 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12840 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12842 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12843 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12844 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12845 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12846 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
12848 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12851 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12852 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12853 links. If that's the case for you, set
12854 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12855 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12857 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12858 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12859 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12860 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12861 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12862 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12865 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12866 Header lines longer than the value of
12867 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12870 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12871 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12872 By default the splitting codes @sc{mime} decodes headers so you can match
12873 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12874 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12875 can be turned off completely by binding
12876 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12877 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12879 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12880 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12881 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12882 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12883 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12884 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12885 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12888 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12889 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12890 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12891 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12892 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12893 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12894 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12895 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12896 month's rent money.
12900 @subsection Mail Sources
12902 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12903 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12907 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12908 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12909 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12913 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12914 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12916 @cindex mail server
12919 @cindex mail source
12921 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12922 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12927 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12930 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12931 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12932 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12935 The following mail source types are available:
12939 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12945 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12946 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12947 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12951 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12954 An example file mail source:
12957 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12960 Or using the default file name:
12966 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12967 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12968 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12971 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12975 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12978 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12982 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12985 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12987 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12990 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12994 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12995 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12996 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12997 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12998 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12999 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
13000 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13001 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
13002 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
13003 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13005 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13006 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13007 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
13008 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13014 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13018 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13022 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13023 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13024 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13025 predicate are considered.
13029 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13033 An example directory mail source:
13036 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13041 Get mail from a POP server.
13047 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
13048 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13051 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
13052 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13053 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13054 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13055 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13058 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
13062 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
13066 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
13067 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13070 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13073 The valid format specifier characters are:
13077 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13078 included in this string.
13081 The name of the server.
13084 The port number of the server.
13087 The user name to use.
13090 The password to use.
13093 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13094 corresponding keywords.
13097 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13098 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13101 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13102 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13105 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13106 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13109 @item :authentication
13110 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13111 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13116 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13117 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13119 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13120 default user name, and default fetcher:
13126 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13129 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13130 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13133 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13136 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13140 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13141 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13142 contains exactly one mail.
13148 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13149 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13152 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13153 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13155 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13156 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13157 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13160 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13161 from locking problems).
13165 Two example maildir mail sources:
13168 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13169 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13173 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13178 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13179 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13180 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13181 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13184 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13185 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13191 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13192 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13195 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13196 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13199 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13203 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13207 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13208 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13209 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13210 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13212 @item :authentication
13213 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13214 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13215 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13216 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13219 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13220 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13221 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13227 The valid format specifier characters are:
13231 The name of the server.
13234 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13237 The port number of the server.
13240 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13241 corresponding keywords.
13244 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13245 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13248 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13249 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13250 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13251 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13252 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13253 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13256 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13257 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13258 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13259 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13262 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13263 after finishing the fetch.
13267 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13270 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13272 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13276 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13277 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13278 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13280 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13281 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13283 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13289 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13290 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13293 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13297 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13301 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13302 folder after finishing the fetch.
13306 An example webmail source:
13309 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13311 :password "secret")
13316 @item Common Keywords
13317 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13323 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13324 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13328 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13333 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13334 useful when you use local mail and news.
13339 @subsubsection Function Interface
13341 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13342 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13343 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13344 consider the following mail-source setting:
13347 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13348 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13351 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13352 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13353 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13354 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13355 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13357 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13360 @node Mail Source Customization
13361 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13363 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13364 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13368 @item mail-source-crash-box
13369 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13370 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13371 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13373 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13374 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13375 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13376 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13377 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13378 (This will only happen, when reveiving new mail). You may also set
13379 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13380 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13382 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13383 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13384 If @code{non-nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13385 files. This variable only applies when
13386 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13388 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13389 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13390 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13392 @item mail-source-directory
13393 @vindex mail-source-directory
13394 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13395 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13396 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13399 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13400 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13401 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13402 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13403 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13404 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13406 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13407 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13408 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13410 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13411 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13412 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13413 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13418 @node Fetching Mail
13419 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13421 @vindex mail-sources
13422 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13423 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13424 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13425 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13427 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13428 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13431 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13432 mail server, you'd say something like:
13437 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13438 :password "secret")))
13441 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13445 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13446 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13449 :password "secret")))
13453 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13454 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13455 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13456 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13457 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13458 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13462 @node Mail Back End Variables
13463 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13465 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13469 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13470 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13471 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13472 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13474 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13475 @item nnmail-split-hook
13476 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13477 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13478 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13479 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13480 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13481 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13482 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13483 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13484 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13487 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13488 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13489 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13490 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13491 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13492 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13493 starting to handle the new mail) and
13494 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13495 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13496 default file modes the new mail files get:
13499 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13500 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13502 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13503 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13506 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13507 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13508 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13509 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13510 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13511 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13512 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13514 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13515 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13516 @findex delete-file
13517 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13519 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13520 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13521 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13522 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13523 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13525 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13526 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13527 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13528 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13529 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13531 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13532 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13533 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13538 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13539 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13540 @cindex mail splitting
13541 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13543 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13544 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13545 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13546 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13547 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13548 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13550 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13553 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13554 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13555 ;; from real errors.
13556 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13558 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13559 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13560 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13561 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13562 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13563 ;; Other mailing lists...
13564 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13565 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13566 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13567 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13568 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13569 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13570 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13571 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13573 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13574 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13578 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13579 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13580 the five possible split syntaxes:
13585 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13586 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13590 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13591 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13592 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13593 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13594 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13595 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13596 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13597 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13600 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13601 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13602 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13603 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13606 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13607 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13610 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13611 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13614 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13615 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13616 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13617 function should return a @var{split}.
13620 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13621 body of the messages:
13624 (defun split-on-body ()
13626 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13627 (goto-char (point-min))
13628 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13632 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13633 when the @code{:} function is run.
13636 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13637 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13638 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13639 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13642 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13646 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13647 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13648 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13649 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13650 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13652 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13653 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13654 are expanded as specified by the variable
13655 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13656 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13659 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13660 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13661 when all this splitting is performed.
13663 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13664 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13665 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13668 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13671 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13672 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13674 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13675 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13676 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13677 groupings 1 through 9.
13679 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13680 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13681 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13682 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13683 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13684 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13685 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13686 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13687 it once per thread.
13689 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13690 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13691 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13694 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13695 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13697 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13698 ;; other splits go here
13702 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13703 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13704 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13705 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13706 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13707 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13708 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13709 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13710 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13711 unless the group name matches the regexp
13712 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13713 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13714 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13715 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13716 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13717 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13718 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13719 messages goes into the new group.
13721 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13722 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13723 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13724 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13725 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13729 @node Group Mail Splitting
13730 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13731 @cindex mail splitting
13732 @cindex group mail splitting
13734 @findex gnus-group-split
13735 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13736 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13737 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13738 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13739 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13740 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13741 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13742 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13744 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13745 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13746 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13747 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13749 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13750 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13751 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13752 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13753 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13754 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13755 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13757 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13758 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13759 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13760 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13761 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13762 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13763 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13765 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13766 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13767 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13768 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13769 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13770 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13771 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13772 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13773 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13774 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13775 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13776 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13777 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13779 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13784 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13785 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13787 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13788 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13789 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13790 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13792 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13795 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13796 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13797 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13800 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13801 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13802 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13806 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13807 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13808 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13812 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13815 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13816 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13817 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13818 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13819 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13820 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13821 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13822 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13823 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13825 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13826 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13827 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13828 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13829 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13830 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13831 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13832 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13833 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13835 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13836 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13837 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13838 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13839 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13840 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13843 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13846 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13847 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13848 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13849 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13850 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13853 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13854 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13855 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13856 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13858 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13859 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13860 @cindex incorporating old mail
13861 @cindex import old mail
13863 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13864 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13865 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13868 Doing so can be quite easy.
13870 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13871 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13872 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13873 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13874 your @code{nnml} groups.
13880 Go to the group buffer.
13883 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13884 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13887 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13890 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13891 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13894 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13895 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13898 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13899 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13900 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13901 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13902 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13904 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13905 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13906 using the new mail back end.
13909 @node Expiring Mail
13910 @subsection Expiring Mail
13911 @cindex article expiry
13913 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13914 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13915 different approach to mail reading.
13917 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13918 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13919 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13920 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13921 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13922 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13925 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13926 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13927 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13928 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13929 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13930 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13931 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13932 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13933 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13935 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13936 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13937 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13938 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13939 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13940 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13941 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13944 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13945 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13946 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13947 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13948 into its own group.)
13950 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13951 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13952 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13953 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13954 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13955 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13956 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13957 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13960 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13961 Groups that match the regular expression
13962 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13963 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13964 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13966 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13967 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13968 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13969 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13970 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13972 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13974 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13975 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13976 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13979 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13980 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13981 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13982 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13983 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13985 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13986 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13989 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13990 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13993 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13994 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13996 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13997 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13998 don't really mix very well.
14000 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14001 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14002 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14003 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14006 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14007 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14008 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14009 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14012 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14014 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14016 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14018 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14020 ((string= group "important")
14026 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14027 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14029 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14030 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14031 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14034 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14035 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14037 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14038 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14039 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14040 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14041 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14042 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14043 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14044 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14045 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14046 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14047 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14048 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
14049 name or @code{delete}.
14051 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14053 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14056 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14057 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14058 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14059 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14060 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14063 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14064 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14065 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14066 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14067 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14070 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14071 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14072 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14073 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14074 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14075 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14077 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14078 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14079 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14080 easier for procmail users.
14082 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14083 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14084 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14085 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14086 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14087 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14088 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14089 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14090 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14091 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14092 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14093 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14094 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14097 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14099 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14100 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14101 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14102 auto-expire turned on.
14106 @subsection Washing Mail
14107 @cindex mail washing
14108 @cindex list server brain damage
14109 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14111 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14112 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14113 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14114 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14115 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14116 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14118 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14119 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14120 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14123 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14124 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14125 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14126 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14129 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14130 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14131 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14132 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14133 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14136 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14137 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14138 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14139 Emacs running on MS machines.
14143 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14144 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14145 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14146 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14149 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14150 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14151 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14152 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14154 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14155 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14156 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14157 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14158 into a feature by documenting it.)
14160 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14161 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14162 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14163 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14164 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14165 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14166 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14169 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14170 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14173 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14174 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14177 This can also be done non-destructively with
14178 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14180 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14181 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14182 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14184 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14185 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14187 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14188 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14189 @code{References} headers.
14193 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14194 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14195 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14199 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14200 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14201 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14208 @subsection Duplicates
14210 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14211 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14212 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14213 @cindex duplicate mails
14214 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14215 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14216 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14217 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14218 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14219 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14220 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14221 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14222 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14223 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14224 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14225 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14226 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14228 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14229 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14230 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14231 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14233 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14236 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14237 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14241 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14242 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14243 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14244 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14245 (any mail "mail.misc")
14252 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14253 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14258 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14259 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14260 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14261 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14262 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14265 @node Not Reading Mail
14266 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14268 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14269 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14270 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14272 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14273 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14274 mail, which should help.
14276 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14277 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14278 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14279 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14280 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14281 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14282 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14283 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14284 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14285 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14286 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14288 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14289 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14293 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14294 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14296 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14297 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14298 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14300 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14301 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14302 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14306 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14307 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14308 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14309 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14310 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14311 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14312 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14316 @node Unix Mail Box
14317 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14319 @cindex unix mail box
14321 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14322 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14323 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14324 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14325 which group it belongs in.
14327 Virtual server settings:
14330 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14331 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14332 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14335 @item nnmbox-active-file
14336 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14337 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14338 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14340 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14341 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14342 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14343 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14348 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14352 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14353 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14354 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14355 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14356 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14358 Virtual server settings:
14361 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14362 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14363 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14365 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14366 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14367 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14368 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14370 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14371 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14372 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14378 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14380 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14382 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14383 format. It should be used with some caution.
14385 @vindex nnml-directory
14386 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14387 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14388 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14389 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14391 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14394 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14395 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14396 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14397 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14398 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14399 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14400 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14401 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14403 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14404 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14405 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14406 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14408 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14410 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14411 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14412 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14413 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14414 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14415 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14416 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14417 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14420 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14421 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14422 them next time it starts.
14424 Virtual server settings:
14427 @item nnml-directory
14428 @vindex nnml-directory
14429 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14430 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14433 @item nnml-active-file
14434 @vindex nnml-active-file
14435 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14436 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14438 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14439 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14440 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14441 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14443 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14444 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14445 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14448 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14449 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14450 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14451 default is @code{nil}.
14453 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14454 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14455 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14457 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14458 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14459 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14461 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14462 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14463 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14464 default is @code{nil}.
14466 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14467 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14468 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14470 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14471 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14472 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14477 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14478 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14479 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14480 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14481 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14482 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14483 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14488 @subsubsection MH Spool
14490 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14492 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14493 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14494 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14495 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14497 Virtual server settings:
14500 @item nnmh-directory
14501 @vindex nnmh-directory
14502 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14503 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14506 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14507 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14508 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14512 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14513 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14514 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14515 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14516 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14517 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14518 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14523 @subsubsection Maildir
14527 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14528 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14529 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14530 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14531 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14534 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14535 reading, without needing locks. With other backends, you would have
14536 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14537 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14538 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14539 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14542 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14543 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14544 data in the filesystem.
14546 nnmaildir stores article marks and NOV data in each maildir. So you
14547 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14550 Virtual server settings:
14554 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14555 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14556 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14557 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14558 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14559 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14560 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14561 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14562 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14565 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14566 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14567 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14568 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14569 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14570 don't worry - a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14571 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14572 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14573 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14574 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14576 @item target-prefix
14577 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14578 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14579 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14582 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14583 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14584 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14585 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14586 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14587 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14588 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14589 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14590 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14592 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14593 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14594 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14595 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14596 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14598 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14599 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14600 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14601 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14602 @code{force} argument.
14604 @item directory-files
14605 This should be a function with the same interface as
14606 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14607 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14608 parameter is optional; the default is
14609 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14610 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14611 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14612 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14613 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14614 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14617 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14618 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14619 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14620 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14621 value is @code{nil}.
14623 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14624 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14625 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14626 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14627 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14630 @subsubsection Group parameters
14632 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14633 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14634 behavior for other mail backends: articles are deleted after one week,
14635 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14636 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14637 duplicate the behavior you already have with another backend.
14639 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14640 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14641 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14642 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14643 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14644 backends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14645 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14646 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14647 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14651 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14652 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14653 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14654 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14655 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overridable by
14656 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14657 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14658 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14659 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14660 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14661 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14662 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14665 If this is set to a string (a full Gnus group name, like
14666 @code{"backend+server.address.string:group.name"}), and if it is not
14667 the name of the same group that the parameter belongs to, then
14668 articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry before
14669 being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14670 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14671 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the destination
14672 group. If this is set to the name of the same group that the
14673 parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If you
14674 use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14675 article. So that form can refer to
14676 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14680 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14681 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14682 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14683 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14684 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14685 directory of another maildir - e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14686 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14687 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14688 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14689 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14690 extra copies of the articles.
14692 @item directory-files
14693 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14694 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14695 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14696 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14698 @item distrust-Lines:
14699 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14700 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14701 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14704 A list of mark symbols, such as
14705 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14706 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14707 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14708 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14709 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14710 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14713 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14714 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14715 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14716 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14717 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14718 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14719 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14721 @item nov-cache-size
14722 An integer specifying the size of the NOV memory cache. To speed
14723 things up, nnmaildir keeps NOV data in memory for a limited number of
14724 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14725 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14726 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened - i.e.,
14727 when you first start Gnus, typically. The NOV cache is never resized
14728 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14729 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14730 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14731 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14734 @subsubsection Article identification
14735 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14736 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14737 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14738 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14739 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14740 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14741 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14742 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14743 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14744 request the article in the summary buffer.
14746 @subsubsection NOV data
14747 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its NOV data (used to
14748 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
14749 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
14750 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
14751 need for it - an article's NOV data is updated automatically when the
14752 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
14753 nnmaildir to regenerate the NOV data for a single article simply by
14754 deleting the corresponding NOV file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
14755 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
14756 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
14758 @subsubsection Article marks
14759 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
14760 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
14761 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
14762 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
14763 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
14764 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
14765 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
14766 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
14768 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
14769 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
14770 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
14771 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
14772 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
14773 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
14774 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
14775 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
14776 changes, and might undo them.
14780 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14782 @cindex mbox folders
14783 @cindex mail folders
14785 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14786 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14787 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14790 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14792 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14793 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14794 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14795 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14796 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14797 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14798 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14799 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14800 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14801 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14803 Virtual server settings:
14806 @item nnfolder-directory
14807 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14808 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14809 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14812 @item nnfolder-active-file
14813 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14814 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14816 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14817 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14818 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14819 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
14821 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14822 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14823 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14826 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14827 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14828 @cindex backup files
14829 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14830 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14831 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14832 your @file{.emacs} file:
14835 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14836 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14838 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14841 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14842 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14843 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14844 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14845 extract some information from it before removing it.
14847 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14848 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14849 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14850 default is @code{nil}.
14852 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14853 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14854 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14856 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14857 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14858 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14859 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14861 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14862 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14863 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14864 default is @code{nil}.
14866 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14867 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14868 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14870 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14871 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14872 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14873 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14878 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14879 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14880 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14881 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14882 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14883 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14886 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14887 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14889 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14890 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14891 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14892 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14893 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14895 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14896 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14897 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14898 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14899 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14900 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14901 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14902 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14905 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14906 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14907 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14908 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14913 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14914 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14915 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14916 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14917 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14918 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14919 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14920 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14921 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14922 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14923 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14924 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14925 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14930 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14931 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14932 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14933 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14934 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14935 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14936 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14937 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14938 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14939 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14940 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14941 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14942 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14943 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14945 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14946 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14951 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14952 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14953 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14954 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14955 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14956 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14957 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14958 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14959 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14960 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14961 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14962 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14963 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14964 provided by the active file and overviews.
14966 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14967 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14968 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14969 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14970 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14973 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14974 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14979 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14980 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14981 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14982 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14983 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14984 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14985 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14989 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14990 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14991 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14992 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14993 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14994 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14995 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14996 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14997 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14999 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15000 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15001 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15002 friendly mail back end all over.
15006 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15007 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15008 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15009 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15010 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15011 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15012 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
15013 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
15016 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15017 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15018 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15019 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15020 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15021 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15022 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15023 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15024 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15025 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15026 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15028 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15029 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15030 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15031 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15032 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15035 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
15036 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
15038 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15039 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15040 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15041 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15042 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15043 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15044 removed in the future.
15046 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15047 back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster, depending in
15048 part on your file system.
15050 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15051 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15056 @node Browsing the Web
15057 @section Browsing the Web
15059 @cindex browsing the web
15063 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15064 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15065 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15066 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15067 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15068 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15069 even know what a news group is.
15071 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15072 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15073 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15074 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15075 you mad in the end.
15077 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15080 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15081 interfaces to these sources.
15085 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15086 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15087 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15088 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15089 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15090 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15093 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15095 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15096 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
15097 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15098 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15099 though, you should be ok.
15101 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15102 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15103 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15104 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15105 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15107 @node Archiving Mail
15108 @subsection Archiving Mail
15109 @cindex archiving mail
15110 @cindex backup of mail
15112 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15113 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15114 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15115 marks is fairly simple.
15117 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15118 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15121 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15122 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15123 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15124 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15125 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15126 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15127 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15128 before you restore the data.
15130 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15131 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15132 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15133 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15134 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15135 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15136 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15137 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15138 is unnecessary in that case.
15141 @subsection Web Searches
15146 @cindex Usenet searches
15147 @cindex searching the Usenet
15149 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15150 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15151 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15152 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15153 searches without having to use a browser.
15155 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15156 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15157 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15158 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15159 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15161 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15162 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15163 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15164 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15165 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15166 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15167 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15168 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15169 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15170 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15173 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15174 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15175 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15176 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15177 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15178 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15180 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15181 to use @code{nnweb}.
15183 Virtual server variables:
15188 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15189 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15190 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15193 @vindex nnweb-search
15194 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15196 @item nnweb-max-hits
15197 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15198 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15201 @item nnweb-type-definition
15202 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15203 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15204 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15209 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15213 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15216 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15219 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15223 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15230 @subsection Slashdot
15234 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
15235 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15236 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15238 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15239 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
15242 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15243 '((nnslashdot "")))
15246 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15247 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15248 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15249 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15250 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15253 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15254 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15256 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15257 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
15258 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15259 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15260 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
15261 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15264 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15267 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15268 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15269 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15270 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15271 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15272 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15273 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15275 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15276 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15277 The login name to use when posting.
15279 @item nnslashdot-password
15280 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15281 The password to use when posting.
15283 @item nnslashdot-directory
15284 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15285 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15286 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15288 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15289 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15290 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15291 news articles and comments. The default is
15292 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15294 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15295 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15296 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15298 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15300 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15301 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15302 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15304 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15306 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15307 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15308 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15310 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15311 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15312 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15313 updated. The default is 0.
15320 @subsection Ultimate
15322 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15324 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
15325 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15326 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15327 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15329 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15330 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15331 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15332 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15333 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15334 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15335 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15337 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15340 @item nnultimate-directory
15341 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15342 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15343 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15348 @subsection Web Archive
15350 @cindex Web Archive
15352 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15353 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15354 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15355 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15358 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15359 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15360 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15361 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15362 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15363 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15364 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15365 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15367 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15370 @item nnwarchive-directory
15371 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15372 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15373 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15375 @item nnwarchive-login
15376 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15377 The account name on the web server.
15379 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15380 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15381 The password for your account on the web server.
15389 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15390 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15391 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15394 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15395 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15398 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15401 @item nnrss-directory
15402 @vindex nnrss-directory
15403 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15404 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15408 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15409 the summary buffer.
15412 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15413 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15415 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15417 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15418 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15421 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15424 (require 'browse-url)
15426 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15428 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15431 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15432 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15435 (browse-url (cdr url))
15436 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15437 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15439 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15440 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15441 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15442 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15445 @node Customizing w3
15446 @subsection Customizing w3
15452 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15453 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15454 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15456 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15457 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15458 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15461 (eval-after-load "w3"
15463 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15464 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15465 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15466 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15468 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15471 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15472 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15481 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15482 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15483 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15484 specify the network address of the server.
15486 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15487 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15488 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15489 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15490 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15492 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15493 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15494 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15495 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15497 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15498 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15499 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15500 usage explained in this section.
15502 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15503 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15504 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15507 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15508 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15509 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15511 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15512 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15513 ; a UW server running on localhost
15515 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15516 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15517 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15518 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15519 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15520 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15521 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15522 (nnimap-stream network))
15523 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15525 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15526 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15527 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15530 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15531 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15532 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15533 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15535 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15540 @item nnimap-address
15541 @vindex nnimap-address
15543 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15544 server name if not specified.
15546 @item nnimap-server-port
15547 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15548 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15550 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15553 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15554 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15557 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15558 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15559 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15560 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15561 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15562 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15563 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15565 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15566 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15567 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15570 Example server specification:
15573 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15574 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15575 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15578 @item nnimap-stream
15579 @vindex nnimap-stream
15580 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15581 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15582 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15583 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15585 Example server specification:
15588 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15589 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15592 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15596 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15597 @samp{imtest} program.
15599 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15601 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15602 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15605 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15606 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15608 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15610 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15613 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15614 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15615 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15616 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15617 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15618 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15619 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15620 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15621 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15624 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15625 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15626 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15627 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15628 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15629 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15630 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15633 @vindex imap-shell-program
15634 @vindex imap-shell-host
15635 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15636 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15638 @item nnimap-authenticator
15639 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15641 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15642 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15644 Example server specification:
15647 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15648 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15651 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15655 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15656 external program @code{imtest}.
15658 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15661 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15662 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15664 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15666 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15668 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15671 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15673 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15674 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15675 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15676 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15677 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15678 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15681 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15682 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15683 running in circles yet?
15685 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15686 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15689 The possible options are:
15694 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15697 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15698 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15699 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15700 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15702 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15707 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15708 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15710 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15711 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15712 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15713 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15714 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15717 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15718 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15721 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15722 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15723 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15724 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15727 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15728 as ticked for other users.
15730 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15732 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15734 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15735 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15736 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15737 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15739 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15740 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15741 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15742 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15744 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15745 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15747 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15748 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15749 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15755 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15756 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15757 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15758 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
15759 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15764 @node Splitting in IMAP
15765 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15766 @cindex splitting imap mail
15768 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15769 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15770 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15771 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15772 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15776 Here are the variables of interest:
15780 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15781 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15783 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15785 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15786 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15788 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15790 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15791 @cindex splitting, inbox
15793 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15795 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15796 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15800 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15801 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15804 No nnmail equivalent.
15806 @item nnimap-split-rule
15807 @cindex Splitting, rules
15808 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15810 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15813 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15814 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15815 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15816 Neither did I, we need examples.
15819 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15821 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15822 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15823 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15826 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15827 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15828 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15830 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15831 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15835 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15838 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15839 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15841 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15842 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15843 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15844 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15846 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15847 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15848 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15849 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15850 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15851 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15853 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15854 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
15855 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
15857 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15858 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15859 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15861 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15863 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15864 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15865 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15868 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15869 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15870 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15871 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15872 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15873 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15876 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15877 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15878 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15879 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15880 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15881 group/function elements.
15883 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15885 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15887 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15889 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15890 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15892 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15893 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15894 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15897 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15898 @cindex splitting, fancy
15899 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15900 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15902 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15903 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15904 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15906 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15907 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15908 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15909 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15914 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15915 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15918 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15920 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15921 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15922 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15924 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15925 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15926 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15927 analyses the body to split the article.
15931 @node Expiring in IMAP
15932 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15933 @cindex expiring imap mail
15935 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15936 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15937 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15938 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15939 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15940 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15943 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15944 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15945 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15946 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15947 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15948 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15949 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15950 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15954 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15955 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15957 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15958 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
15960 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15962 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15963 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15964 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15965 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15969 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15970 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15971 @cindex editing imap acls
15972 @cindex Access Control Lists
15973 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15975 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15977 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15978 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15979 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15982 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15983 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15984 editing window with detailed instructions.
15986 Some possible uses:
15990 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15991 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15992 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15994 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15995 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
15996 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
16000 @node Expunging mailboxes
16001 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16005 @cindex Manual expunging
16007 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16009 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16010 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16011 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16013 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16016 @node A note on namespaces
16017 @subsection A note on namespaces
16018 @cindex IMAP namespace
16021 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
16022 following text in the RFC:
16025 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16027 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16028 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16029 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16030 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16032 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16033 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16034 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16035 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16036 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16037 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16040 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
16041 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
16042 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16044 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
16045 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
16046 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
16047 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
16048 the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
16049 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
16050 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
16051 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
16053 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16054 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16055 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16057 @node Other Sources
16058 @section Other Sources
16060 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16061 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16065 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16066 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16067 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16068 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16069 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16073 @node Directory Groups
16074 @subsection Directory Groups
16076 @cindex directory groups
16078 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16079 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16082 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16083 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16084 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16085 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16087 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16088 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16089 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16090 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16091 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16093 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
16095 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16096 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16097 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16098 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16101 @node Anything Groups
16102 @subsection Anything Groups
16105 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16106 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16107 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16110 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16111 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16112 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16113 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16114 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16115 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16116 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16117 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16118 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16119 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16122 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16123 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16124 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16125 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16127 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16128 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16129 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16130 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16132 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16133 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16134 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16135 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16136 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16137 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16138 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16139 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16144 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16145 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16146 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16147 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16149 @item nneething-exclude-files
16150 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16151 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16152 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16154 @item nneething-include-files
16155 @vindex nneething-include-files
16156 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16157 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16159 @item nneething-map-file
16160 @vindex nneething-map-file
16161 Name of the map files.
16165 @node Document Groups
16166 @subsection Document Groups
16168 @cindex documentation group
16171 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16172 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16179 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
16184 The standard Unix mbox file.
16186 @cindex MMDF mail box
16188 The MMDF mail box format.
16191 Several news articles appended into a file.
16194 @cindex rnews batch files
16195 The rnews batch transport format.
16196 @cindex forwarded messages
16199 Forwarded articles.
16202 Netscape mail boxes.
16205 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
16207 @item standard-digest
16208 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16211 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
16213 @item lanl-gov-announce
16214 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16216 @item rfc822-forward
16217 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16220 The Outlook mail box.
16223 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16226 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16229 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16232 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16238 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16241 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16247 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16248 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16249 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16252 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16253 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16254 group. And that's it.
16256 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16257 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16258 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16259 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16260 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16261 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16262 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16263 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16264 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16265 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16267 Virtual server variables:
16270 @item nndoc-article-type
16271 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16272 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16273 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16274 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16275 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16276 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16278 @item nndoc-post-type
16279 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16280 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16281 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16286 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16290 @node Document Server Internals
16291 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16293 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16294 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16295 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16296 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16298 First, here's an example document type definition:
16302 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16303 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16306 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16307 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16308 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16309 types can be defined with very few settings:
16312 @item first-article
16313 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16314 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16317 @item article-begin
16318 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16319 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16321 @item head-begin-function
16322 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16325 @item nndoc-head-begin
16326 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16329 @item nndoc-head-end
16330 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16331 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16333 @item body-begin-function
16334 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16338 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16341 @item body-end-function
16342 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16346 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16349 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16350 regexp will be totally ignored.
16354 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16355 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16356 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16357 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16358 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16361 @item prepare-body-function
16362 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16363 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16364 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16366 @item article-transform-function
16367 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16368 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16369 body of the article.
16371 @item generate-head-function
16372 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16373 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16374 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16375 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16379 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16384 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16385 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16386 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16387 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16388 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16389 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16390 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16391 (subtype digest guess))
16394 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16395 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16396 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16397 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16398 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16400 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16401 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16402 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16403 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16404 The alist is traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is
16405 called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is
16406 called to see whether a document is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on.
16407 These type predicates should return @code{nil} if the document is not
16408 of the correct type; @code{t} if it is of the correct type; and a
16409 number if the document might be of the correct type. A high number
16410 means high probability; a low number means low probability with
16411 @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16419 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16420 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16421 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16423 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16424 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16425 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16428 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16429 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16430 that interested in doing things properly.
16432 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16433 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16436 First some terminology:
16441 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16442 get news and/or mail from.
16445 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16446 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16449 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16453 @item message packets
16454 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16455 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16456 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16458 @item response packets
16459 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16460 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16461 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16471 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16472 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16473 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16474 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16477 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16480 You put the packet in your home directory.
16483 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16484 the native or secondary server.
16487 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16488 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16491 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16495 You transfer this packet to the server.
16498 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16501 You then repeat until you die.
16505 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16506 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16509 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16510 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16511 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16515 @node SOUP Commands
16516 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16518 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16522 @kindex G s b (Group)
16523 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16524 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16525 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16526 process/prefix convention.
16529 @kindex G s w (Group)
16530 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16531 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16534 @kindex G s s (Group)
16535 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16536 Send all replies from the replies packet
16537 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16540 @kindex G s p (Group)
16541 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16542 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16545 @kindex G s r (Group)
16546 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16547 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16550 @kindex O s (Summary)
16551 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16552 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16553 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16554 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16559 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16564 @item gnus-soup-directory
16565 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16566 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16567 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16569 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16570 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16571 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16572 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16574 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16575 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16576 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16577 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16579 @item gnus-soup-packer
16580 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16581 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16582 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16584 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16585 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16586 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16587 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16589 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16590 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16591 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16593 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16594 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16595 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16596 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16602 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16605 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16606 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16607 you can read them at leisure.
16609 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16613 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16614 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16615 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16616 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16618 @item nnsoup-directory
16619 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16620 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16621 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16623 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16624 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16625 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16626 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16628 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16629 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16630 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16631 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16632 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16634 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16635 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16636 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16637 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16639 @item nnsoup-active-file
16640 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16641 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16642 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16643 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16644 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16646 @item nnsoup-packer
16647 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16648 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16649 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16651 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16652 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16653 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16654 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16656 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16657 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16658 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16661 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16662 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16663 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16666 @item nnsoup-always-save
16667 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16668 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16674 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16676 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16677 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16678 more for that to happen.
16680 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16681 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16682 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16685 In specific, this is what it does:
16688 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16689 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16692 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16693 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16694 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16697 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16698 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16699 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16702 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16703 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16704 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16706 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16712 @item nngateway-address
16713 @vindex nngateway-address
16714 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16716 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16717 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16718 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16719 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16720 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16721 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16722 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16725 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16726 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16727 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16730 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16733 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16736 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16739 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16741 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16744 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16745 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16746 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16748 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16750 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16751 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16752 @code{nngateway-address}.
16757 (setq gnus-post-method
16759 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16760 (nngateway-header-transformation
16761 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16769 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16772 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16777 @node Combined Groups
16778 @section Combined Groups
16780 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16784 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16785 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16789 @node Virtual Groups
16790 @subsection Virtual Groups
16792 @cindex virtual groups
16793 @cindex merging groups
16795 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16798 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16799 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16800 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16802 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16803 regexp to match component groups.
16805 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16806 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16807 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16808 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16809 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16810 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16811 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16812 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16814 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16815 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16818 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16821 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16822 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16824 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16825 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16826 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16827 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16830 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16833 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16834 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16835 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16837 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16838 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16839 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16840 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16841 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16843 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16844 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16845 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16847 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16848 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16849 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16850 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16851 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16852 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16853 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16854 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16855 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16856 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16857 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16859 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16860 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16861 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16862 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16863 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16864 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16865 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16867 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16868 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16870 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16871 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16875 @node Kibozed Groups
16876 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16880 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16881 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16882 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16883 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16885 @kindex G k (Group)
16886 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16889 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16890 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16891 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16892 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16894 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16895 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16896 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16898 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16899 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16900 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16901 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16902 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16903 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16904 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16905 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16907 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16908 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16909 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16910 Stranger things have happened.
16912 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16913 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16915 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16916 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16917 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16918 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16919 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16920 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16922 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16923 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16926 @node Gnus Unplugged
16927 @section Gnus Unplugged
16932 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16934 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16935 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16936 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16937 read news. Believe it or not.
16939 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16940 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16941 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16942 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16943 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16945 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16946 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16947 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16948 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16949 reading news on a machine.
16951 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16952 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16954 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16957 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16958 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16959 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16960 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16961 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16962 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16963 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16964 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16965 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16966 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16967 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16968 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16973 @subsection Agent Basics
16975 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16977 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16978 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16979 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16980 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16982 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16983 connected to the net continuously.
16985 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16986 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16988 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16993 @findex gnus-unplugged
16994 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16995 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16996 already fetched while in this mode.
16999 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17000 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17001 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17002 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17003 Source Specifiers}).
17006 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17007 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17008 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17009 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17010 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17013 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17014 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17015 then you read the news offline.
17018 And then you go to step 2.
17021 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17027 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17028 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17029 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17030 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17031 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17032 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17033 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17038 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17039 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17040 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17041 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17043 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17044 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17045 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17046 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17047 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17048 your policy, you can use grou parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17052 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17056 @node Agent Categories
17057 @subsection Agent Categories
17059 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17060 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17061 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17062 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17063 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17064 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17065 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17067 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17068 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17069 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17070 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17071 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17073 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17074 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17075 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17076 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17077 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17080 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17081 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17082 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17083 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17084 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17085 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17089 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17090 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17091 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17095 @node Category Syntax
17096 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17098 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17099 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17100 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17104 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17105 The name of the category.
17107 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17108 The list of groups that are in this category.
17110 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17111 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17112 are eligible for downloading; and
17114 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17115 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17116 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17117 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17119 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17120 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17121 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17122 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17123 only groups that should not be expired.
17125 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17126 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17127 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17129 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17130 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17132 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17133 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17135 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17136 an integer that overrides the value of
17137 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17139 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17140 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17143 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17146 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17147 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17148 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17151 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17152 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17153 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17154 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17156 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17157 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17158 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17160 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17161 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17162 operators sprinkled in between.
17164 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17166 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17167 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17173 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17174 short (for some value of ``short'').
17176 Here's a more complex predicate:
17185 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17186 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17189 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17190 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17191 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17193 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17194 you want to do, you can write your own.
17196 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17197 bound to the value determined by calling
17198 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17199 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17200 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17201 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17202 predicate to individual groups.
17206 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17207 lines; default 100.
17210 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17211 lines; default 200.
17214 True iff the article has a download score less than
17215 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17218 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17219 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17222 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17223 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17224 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17233 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17234 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17235 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17238 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17239 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17240 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17241 something along the lines of the following:
17244 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17245 "Say whether an article is old."
17246 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17247 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17250 with the predicate then defined as:
17253 (not my-article-old-p)
17256 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17257 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17261 (require 'gnus-agent)
17262 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17263 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17264 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17267 and simply specify your predicate as:
17273 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17274 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17275 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17276 just don't give a damn.
17278 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17279 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17280 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17281 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17282 parameters like so:
17285 (agent-predicate . short)
17288 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17289 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17290 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17292 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17295 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17298 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17299 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17300 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17303 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17304 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17305 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17306 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17307 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17308 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17310 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17311 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17312 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17313 if it's to be specific to that group.
17315 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17322 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17323 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17329 Category specification
17333 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17339 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17342 (agent-score ("from"
17343 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17348 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17354 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17355 keywords stated above.
17361 Category specification
17364 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17370 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17374 Group Parameter specification
17377 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17380 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17385 Use @code{normal} score files
17387 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17388 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17389 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17390 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17392 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17393 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17394 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17395 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17399 Category Specification
17406 Group Parameter specification
17409 (agent-score . file)
17414 @node Category Buffer
17415 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17417 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17418 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17419 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17421 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17425 @kindex q (Category)
17426 @findex gnus-category-exit
17427 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17430 @kindex e (Category)
17431 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17432 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17433 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17436 @kindex k (Category)
17437 @findex gnus-category-kill
17438 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17441 @kindex c (Category)
17442 @findex gnus-category-copy
17443 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17446 @kindex a (Category)
17447 @findex gnus-category-add
17448 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17451 @kindex p (Category)
17452 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17453 Edit the predicate of the current category
17454 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17457 @kindex g (Category)
17458 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17459 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17460 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17463 @kindex s (Category)
17464 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17465 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17466 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17469 @kindex l (Category)
17470 @findex gnus-category-list
17471 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17475 @node Category Variables
17476 @subsubsection Category Variables
17479 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17480 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17481 Hook run in category buffers.
17483 @item gnus-category-line-format
17484 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17485 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17486 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17490 The name of the category.
17493 The number of groups in the category.
17496 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17497 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17498 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17500 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17501 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17502 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17504 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17505 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17506 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17508 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17509 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17510 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17513 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17514 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17515 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17518 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17519 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17520 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17521 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17522 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17523 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17524 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17525 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17529 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17530 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17531 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17532 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17533 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17534 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17535 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17540 @node Agent Commands
17541 @subsection Agent Commands
17542 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17543 @kindex J j (Agent)
17545 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17546 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17547 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17551 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17552 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17553 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17559 @node Group Agent Commands
17560 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17564 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17565 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17566 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17567 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17570 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17571 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17572 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17575 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17576 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17577 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17578 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17581 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17582 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17583 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17584 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17587 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17588 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17589 Add the current group to an Agent category
17590 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17591 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17594 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17595 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17596 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17597 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17598 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17601 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17602 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17603 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17609 @node Summary Agent Commands
17610 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17614 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17615 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17616 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17619 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17620 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17621 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17622 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17626 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17627 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17628 Toggle whether to download the article
17629 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17633 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17634 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17635 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17638 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17639 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17640 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17641 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17644 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17645 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17646 Download all processable articles in this group.
17647 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17650 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17651 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17652 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17653 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17658 @node Server Agent Commands
17659 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17663 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17664 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17665 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17666 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17669 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17670 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17671 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17672 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17677 @node Agent as Cache
17678 @subsection Agent as Cache
17680 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17681 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17682 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17683 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17684 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17685 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17686 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17687 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17688 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17690 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17691 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17692 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17693 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17694 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap backend.
17697 @subsection Agent Expiry
17699 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17700 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17701 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17702 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17703 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17704 @cindex Agent expiry
17705 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17708 The Agent backend, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17709 least it doesn't handle it like other backends. Instead, there are
17710 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17711 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17712 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17713 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17714 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17715 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17717 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17718 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17719 synchronized with the group.
17721 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17722 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17724 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17725 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17726 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17727 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17728 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17729 be kept indefinitely.
17731 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17732 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
17733 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
17734 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
17736 @node Agent Regeneration
17737 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17739 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17740 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17741 @cindex regeneration
17743 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17744 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17745 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17746 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17747 internal inconsistencies.
17749 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17750 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17751 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
17752 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17753 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17754 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17756 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17757 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17758 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17759 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17760 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17761 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17763 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17764 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17765 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17766 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17767 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17768 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17771 @node Agent and IMAP
17772 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17774 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17775 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17776 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17777 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17779 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17780 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17781 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17782 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17784 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17785 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17786 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17787 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17789 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17790 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17791 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17792 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17793 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17794 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17796 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17797 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17798 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17799 in the group buffer.
17801 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17802 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17807 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17810 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17814 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
17815 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17816 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17817 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17818 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17819 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
17820 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17821 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17824 @node Outgoing Messages
17825 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17827 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17828 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17829 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17831 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17832 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17833 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17834 messages in the draft group.
17838 @node Agent Variables
17839 @subsection Agent Variables
17842 @item gnus-agent-directory
17843 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17844 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17845 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17847 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17848 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17849 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17850 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17851 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17854 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17855 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17856 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17858 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17859 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17860 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17862 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17863 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17864 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
17866 @item gnus-agent-cache
17867 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17868 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17869 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17870 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17872 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17873 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17874 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17875 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17876 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17877 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17878 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17881 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17882 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17883 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17884 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
17885 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
17886 read. The default is t.
17888 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17889 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17890 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17891 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17892 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17894 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17895 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17896 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17897 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17898 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17899 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17900 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17901 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17902 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17903 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17904 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17905 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
17908 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17909 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17910 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17911 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17912 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17913 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17914 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17915 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17916 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17918 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
17919 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
17920 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
17921 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
17922 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
17923 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
17925 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
17926 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
17927 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
17928 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
17929 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
17934 @node Example Setup
17935 @subsection Example Setup
17937 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17938 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17939 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17942 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17943 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17944 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17946 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17947 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17948 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17950 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17951 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17953 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17954 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17955 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17958 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17959 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17962 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17963 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17964 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17965 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17966 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17969 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17970 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17971 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17972 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17973 back all the killed groups.)
17975 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17976 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17977 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17980 @node Batching Agents
17981 @subsection Batching Agents
17982 @findex gnus-agent-batch
17984 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17985 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17986 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17988 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17989 following incantation:
17993 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17997 @node Agent Caveats
17998 @subsection Agent Caveats
18000 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18001 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18005 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18007 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18008 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18009 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18011 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18012 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18014 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18018 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18019 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18020 locally stored articles.
18027 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18028 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18029 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18032 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18033 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18034 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18035 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18036 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18038 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18039 before generating the summary buffer.
18041 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18042 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18043 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18045 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18046 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18047 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18048 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18051 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18052 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18053 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18054 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18055 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18056 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18057 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18058 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18059 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18060 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18061 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18062 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18063 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18064 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18065 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18066 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18067 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18071 @node Summary Score Commands
18072 @section Summary Score Commands
18073 @cindex score commands
18075 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18076 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18077 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18078 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18079 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18081 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18082 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18083 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18084 score file the current one.
18086 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18091 @kindex V s (Summary)
18092 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18093 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18096 @kindex V S (Summary)
18097 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18098 Display the score of the current article
18099 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18102 @kindex V t (Summary)
18103 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18104 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18105 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
18108 @kindex V w (Summary)
18109 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18110 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18113 @kindex V R (Summary)
18114 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18115 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18116 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18117 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18118 effect you're having.
18121 @kindex V c (Summary)
18122 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18123 Make a different score file the current
18124 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18127 @kindex V e (Summary)
18128 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18129 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18130 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18134 @kindex V f (Summary)
18135 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18136 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18137 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18140 @kindex V F (Summary)
18141 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18142 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18143 after editing score files.
18146 @kindex V C (Summary)
18147 @findex gnus-score-customize
18148 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18149 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18153 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18158 @kindex V m (Summary)
18159 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18160 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18161 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18164 @kindex V x (Summary)
18165 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18166 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18167 expunge all articles below this score
18168 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18171 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18172 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18175 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18176 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18180 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18181 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18183 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18184 keys are available:
18188 Score on the author name.
18191 Score on the subject line.
18194 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18197 Score on the @code{References} line.
18203 Score on the number of lines.
18206 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18209 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18210 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18213 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18214 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18215 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18224 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18230 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18231 what headers you are scoring on.
18243 Substring matching.
18246 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18275 Greater than number.
18280 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18281 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18282 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18287 Temporary score entry.
18290 Permanent score entry.
18293 Immediately scoring.
18297 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18298 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18299 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18303 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18304 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18305 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18306 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18308 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18309 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18310 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18311 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18312 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18314 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18315 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18316 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18317 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18318 current score file.
18320 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18321 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18322 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18325 @node Group Score Commands
18326 @section Group Score Commands
18327 @cindex group score commands
18329 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18334 @kindex W f (Group)
18335 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18336 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18337 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18338 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18342 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18344 @findex gnus-batch-score
18345 @cindex batch scoring
18347 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18351 @node Score Variables
18352 @section Score Variables
18353 @cindex score variables
18357 @item gnus-use-scoring
18358 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18359 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18360 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18362 @item gnus-kill-killed
18363 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18364 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18365 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18366 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18367 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18368 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18369 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18371 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18372 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18373 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18374 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18375 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18377 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18378 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18379 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18380 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18382 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18383 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18384 @cindex score cache
18385 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18386 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18387 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18388 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18389 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18390 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18391 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18394 @item gnus-save-score
18395 @vindex gnus-save-score
18396 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18397 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18398 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18400 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18401 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18402 across group visits.
18404 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18405 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18406 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18407 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18408 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18409 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18410 manually entered data.
18412 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18413 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18414 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18416 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18417 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18418 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18419 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18420 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18421 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18423 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18424 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18425 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18426 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18428 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18429 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18430 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18431 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18433 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18434 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18435 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18436 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18438 Predefined functions available are:
18441 @item gnus-score-find-single
18442 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18443 Only apply the group's own score file.
18445 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18446 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18447 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18448 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18449 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18450 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18451 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18452 then a regexp match is done.
18454 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18455 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18457 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18458 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18459 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18460 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18462 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18463 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18464 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18465 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18466 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18470 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18471 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18472 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18473 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18474 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18475 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18476 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18479 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18480 overall score file, you could use the value
18482 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18483 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18486 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18487 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18488 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18489 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18490 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18492 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18493 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18494 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18495 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18496 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18497 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18498 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18499 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18501 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18502 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18503 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18505 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18506 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18507 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18508 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18509 threading---according to the current value of
18510 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18511 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18512 simplified in this manner.
18517 @node Score File Format
18518 @section Score File Format
18519 @cindex score file format
18521 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18522 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18523 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18525 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18529 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18531 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18533 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18535 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18540 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18544 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18545 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18546 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18547 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18551 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18552 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18554 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18555 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18556 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18558 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18563 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18564 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18565 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18566 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18567 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18568 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18569 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18570 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18571 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18572 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18573 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18574 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18575 to articles that matches these score entries.
18577 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18578 score entry has one to four elements.
18582 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18583 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18587 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18588 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18589 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18590 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18591 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18592 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18595 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18596 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18597 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18598 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18599 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18602 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18603 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18604 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18605 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18608 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18609 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18610 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18611 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18612 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18613 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18614 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18615 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18616 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18617 instead, if you feel like.
18620 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18621 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18622 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18623 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18624 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18625 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18628 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18632 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18633 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18635 These predicates are true if
18638 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18641 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18642 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18649 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18650 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18651 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18652 it's not. I think.)
18654 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18655 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18656 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18657 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18660 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18661 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18662 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18663 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18664 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18665 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18666 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18670 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18671 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18672 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18673 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18674 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18675 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18676 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18677 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18680 @item Head, Body, All
18681 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18685 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18686 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18687 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18688 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18689 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18690 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18691 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18695 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18696 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18697 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18698 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18699 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18700 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18701 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18702 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18703 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18704 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18705 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18709 @cindex Score File Atoms
18711 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18712 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18715 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18716 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18718 @item mark-and-expunge
18719 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18720 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18723 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18724 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18725 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18726 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18727 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18730 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18731 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18734 @item exclude-files
18735 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18736 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18740 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18741 ignored when handling global score files.
18744 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18745 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18746 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18747 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18750 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18751 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18752 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18753 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18755 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18759 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18762 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18763 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18764 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18765 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18766 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18768 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18769 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18770 scoring rules exist.
18773 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18774 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18775 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18776 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18777 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18778 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18779 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18780 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18781 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18782 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18783 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18787 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18788 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18789 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18790 file for a number of groups.
18793 @cindex local variables
18794 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
18795 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
18796 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
18797 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
18798 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
18803 @node Score File Editing
18804 @section Score File Editing
18806 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18807 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18808 with a mode for that.
18810 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18811 additional commands:
18816 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18817 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18818 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18819 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18822 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18823 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18824 Insert the current date in numerical format
18825 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18826 you were wondering.
18829 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18830 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18831 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18832 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18833 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18838 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18840 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18841 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18843 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18844 e} to begin editing score files.
18847 @node Adaptive Scoring
18848 @section Adaptive Scoring
18849 @cindex adaptive scoring
18851 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18852 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18853 stupidity, to be precise.
18855 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18856 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18857 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18858 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18859 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18860 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18861 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18862 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18863 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18865 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18866 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18867 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18868 might look something like this:
18871 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18872 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18873 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18874 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18875 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18876 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18877 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18878 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18879 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18880 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18881 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18882 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18885 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18886 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18887 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18888 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18889 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18890 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18893 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18894 will be applied to each article.
18896 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18897 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18898 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18899 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18901 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18902 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18903 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18904 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18906 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18907 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18908 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18909 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18911 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18912 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18913 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18914 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18915 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18916 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18918 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18919 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18920 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18922 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18923 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18924 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18926 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18927 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18928 let you use different rules in different groups.
18930 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18931 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18932 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18935 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18936 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18937 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18938 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18939 the length of the match is less than
18940 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18941 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18944 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18945 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18946 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18947 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18948 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18951 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18952 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18953 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18954 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18955 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18958 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18959 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18960 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18961 score with 30 points.
18963 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18964 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18965 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18966 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18967 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18969 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18970 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18971 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18972 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18973 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18975 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18976 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18977 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18978 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18980 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18981 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18982 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18983 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18985 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18986 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18987 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18988 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18989 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18991 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18992 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18993 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18995 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18996 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18997 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18998 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19001 @node Home Score File
19002 @section Home Score File
19004 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19005 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19006 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19007 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19009 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19010 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19011 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19013 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19014 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19019 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19023 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19024 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19028 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19032 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19033 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19036 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
19037 the home score file.
19040 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19043 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19048 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19051 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19052 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19055 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19056 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19058 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19060 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19061 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19064 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19065 Other functions include
19068 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19069 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19070 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19071 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19075 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19076 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19077 their own home score files:
19080 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19081 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
19082 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19083 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
19084 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19087 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19088 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19089 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19090 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19091 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19093 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19094 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19095 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19096 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19097 precedence over this variable.
19100 @node Followups To Yourself
19101 @section Followups To Yourself
19103 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19104 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19105 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19106 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19107 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19108 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19112 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19113 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19114 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19117 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19118 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19119 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19123 @vindex message-sent-hook
19124 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19125 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19127 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19131 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19132 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19136 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19137 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19140 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19141 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19146 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19150 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19151 is system-dependent.
19154 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19155 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19156 @cindex scoring on other headers
19158 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19159 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19160 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19161 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19162 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19164 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19165 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19166 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19167 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19168 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19170 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19173 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19174 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19177 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19178 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19179 time if you have much mail.
19181 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19182 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19188 @section Scoring Tips
19189 @cindex scoring tips
19195 @cindex scoring crossposts
19196 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19197 the @code{Xref} header.
19199 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19202 @item Multiple crossposts
19203 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19204 more than, say, 3 groups:
19207 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19211 @item Matching on the body
19212 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19213 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19214 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19215 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19216 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19217 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19218 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19221 @item Marking as read
19222 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19223 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19224 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19228 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19230 @item Negated character classes
19231 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19232 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19233 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19237 @node Reverse Scoring
19238 @section Reverse Scoring
19239 @cindex reverse scoring
19241 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19242 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19243 like this in your score file:
19247 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19252 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19253 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19256 @node Global Score Files
19257 @section Global Score Files
19258 @cindex global score files
19260 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19261 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19262 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19264 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19265 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19266 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19268 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19269 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19270 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19271 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19272 files are applicable to which group.
19274 To use the score file
19275 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19276 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19280 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19281 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19282 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19285 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19287 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19288 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19289 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19290 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19292 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19293 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19295 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19296 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19297 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19298 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19299 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19300 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19302 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19308 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19310 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19312 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19314 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19315 lowered out of existence.
19317 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19318 articles completely.
19321 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19322 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19323 old articles for a long time.
19326 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19327 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19328 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19329 holding our breath yet?
19333 @section Kill Files
19336 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19337 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19338 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19340 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19341 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19342 files into score files.
19344 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19345 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19346 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19347 that isn't a very good idea.
19349 Normal kill files look like this:
19352 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19353 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19357 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19358 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19360 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19361 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19364 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
19369 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19370 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19371 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19374 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19375 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19376 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19379 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19384 @kindex M-k (Group)
19385 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19386 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19389 @kindex M-K (Group)
19390 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19391 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19394 Kill file variables:
19397 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19398 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19399 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19400 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19401 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19402 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19403 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19405 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19406 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19407 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19408 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19411 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19412 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19413 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19414 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19415 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19416 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19417 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19418 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19419 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19421 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19422 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19423 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19428 @node Converting Kill Files
19429 @section Converting Kill Files
19431 @cindex converting kill files
19433 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19434 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19435 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19438 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19439 You can fetch it from
19440 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19442 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19443 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19444 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19452 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19453 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19454 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19455 news articles generated every day.
19457 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19458 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19459 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19460 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19461 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19462 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19463 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19464 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19467 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19468 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19471 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19472 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19473 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19474 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19478 @node Using GroupLens
19479 @subsection Using GroupLens
19481 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19483 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19484 better bit in town at the moment.
19486 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19490 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19491 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19492 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19493 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19495 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19496 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19497 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19498 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19500 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19501 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19502 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19506 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19507 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19508 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19509 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19510 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19511 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19514 @node Rating Articles
19515 @subsection Rating Articles
19517 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19518 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19519 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19520 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19523 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19528 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19529 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19530 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19533 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19534 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19535 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19536 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19537 threads in rec.humor.
19541 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19542 the score of the article you're reading.
19547 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19548 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19549 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19552 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19553 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19554 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19558 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19559 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19562 @node Displaying Predictions
19563 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19565 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19566 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19567 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19568 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19569 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19571 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19572 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19573 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19574 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19575 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19576 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19577 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19578 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19579 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19580 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19581 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19582 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19583 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19585 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19586 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19587 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19588 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19590 The following are valid values for that variable.
19593 @item prediction-spot
19594 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19597 @item confidence-interval
19598 A numeric confidence interval.
19600 @item prediction-bar
19601 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19603 @item confidence-bar
19604 Numerical confidence.
19606 @item confidence-spot
19607 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19609 @item prediction-num
19610 Plain-old numeric value.
19612 @item confidence-plus-minus
19613 Prediction +/- confidence.
19618 @node GroupLens Variables
19619 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19623 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19624 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19625 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19626 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19629 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19630 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19633 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19634 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19636 @item grouplens-score-offset
19637 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19638 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19641 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19642 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19643 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19648 @node Advanced Scoring
19649 @section Advanced Scoring
19651 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19652 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19653 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19654 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19655 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19657 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19661 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19662 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19663 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19667 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19668 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19670 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19671 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19672 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19673 non-@code{nil} value.
19675 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19676 operator, and various match operators.
19683 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19684 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19685 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19690 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19691 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19692 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19697 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19698 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19702 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19703 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19704 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19705 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19706 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19707 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19708 the ancestry you want to go.
19710 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19711 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19712 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19713 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19714 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19717 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19718 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19720 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19721 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19724 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19725 when he's talking about Gnus:
19729 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19730 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19736 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19740 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19747 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19748 really don't want to read what he's written:
19752 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19753 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19757 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19758 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19759 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19766 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19767 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19768 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19769 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19773 The possibilities are endless.
19776 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19777 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19779 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19780 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19781 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19782 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19783 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19784 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19785 @samp{subject}) first.
19787 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19788 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19799 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19800 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19806 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19813 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19814 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19819 @section Score Decays
19820 @cindex score decays
19823 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19824 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19825 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19826 use them in any sensible way.
19828 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19829 @findex gnus-decay-score
19830 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19831 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19832 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19833 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19834 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19835 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19836 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19837 definition of that function:
19840 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19842 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19843 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19846 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19848 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19850 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19853 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19854 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19855 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19856 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19860 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19863 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19866 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19870 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19871 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19872 the new score, which should be an integer.
19874 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19875 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19880 @include message.texi
19881 @chapter Emacs MIME
19882 @include emacs-mime.texi
19884 @include sieve.texi
19894 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19895 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19896 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19897 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19898 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19899 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19900 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19901 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19902 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19903 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19904 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19905 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19906 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19907 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19908 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19909 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19910 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19911 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19912 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19916 @node Process/Prefix
19917 @section Process/Prefix
19918 @cindex process/prefix convention
19920 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19921 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19923 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19924 command to be performed on.
19928 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19929 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19930 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19931 with the current one.
19933 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19934 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19935 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19937 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19938 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19941 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19942 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19944 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19947 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19948 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19949 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19950 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19952 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19953 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19954 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19955 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19956 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19957 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19958 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19959 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19961 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19962 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19963 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19964 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19965 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
19969 @section Interactive
19970 @cindex interaction
19974 @item gnus-novice-user
19975 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19976 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19977 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19978 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19979 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19982 @item gnus-expert-user
19983 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19984 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19985 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19986 matter how strange.
19988 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19989 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19990 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19991 is @code{t} by default.
19993 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19994 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19995 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20000 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20001 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20002 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20004 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20005 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20006 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20007 rule of 900 to the current article.
20009 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20010 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20011 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20012 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20013 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20014 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20015 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20017 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20018 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20019 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20020 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20021 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20022 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20023 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20024 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20025 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20027 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20028 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20029 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20031 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20035 @node Formatting Variables
20036 @section Formatting Variables
20037 @cindex formatting variables
20039 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20040 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20041 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20042 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20043 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20046 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20047 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20048 lots of percentages everywhere.
20051 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20052 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20053 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20054 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20055 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20056 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20057 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20058 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20061 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20062 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20063 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20064 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20065 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20066 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20067 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20068 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20070 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20071 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20073 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20074 @findex gnus-update-format
20075 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20076 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20077 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20078 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20082 @node Formatting Basics
20083 @subsection Formatting Basics
20085 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20086 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20087 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20089 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20090 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20091 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20092 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20093 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20096 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20097 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20098 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20099 less than 4 characters wide.
20101 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20102 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20105 @node Mode Line Formatting
20106 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20108 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20109 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20110 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20111 with the following two differences:
20116 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20119 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20120 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20121 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20122 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20123 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20124 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20125 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20130 @node Advanced Formatting
20131 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20133 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20134 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20135 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20136 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20138 These are the valid modifiers:
20143 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20147 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20152 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20155 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20160 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20163 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20166 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20169 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20175 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20180 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20181 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20182 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20183 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20184 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20185 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20186 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20188 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20189 last operation, padding.
20191 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
20192 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
20193 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
20194 @xref{Compilation}.
20197 @node User-Defined Specs
20198 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20200 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20201 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20202 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20203 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20204 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20205 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20206 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20207 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20208 should protect against that.
20210 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20211 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20213 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20214 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20215 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20216 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20220 @node Formatting Fonts
20221 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20223 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20224 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20225 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20226 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20229 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20230 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20231 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20232 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20233 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20234 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20236 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20237 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
20238 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
20239 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
20240 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
20241 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
20242 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
20243 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
20244 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
20245 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
20247 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20250 ;; Create three face types.
20251 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20252 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20254 ;; We want the article count to be in
20255 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
20256 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
20257 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20259 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20260 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20262 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
20263 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20264 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20267 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20268 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20270 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20271 mode-line variables.
20273 @node Positioning Point
20274 @subsection Positioning Point
20276 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20277 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20278 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20280 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20282 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20283 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20284 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20286 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20287 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20288 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20293 @subsection Tabulation
20295 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20296 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20297 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20298 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20300 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
20301 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20303 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20304 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20305 This is the soft tabulator.
20307 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20308 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20309 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20312 @node Wide Characters
20313 @subsection Wide Characters
20315 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20316 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20317 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20319 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20320 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20321 these countries, that's not true.
20323 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20324 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20325 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20326 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20330 @node Window Layout
20331 @section Window Layout
20332 @cindex window layout
20334 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20336 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20337 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20338 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20339 @code{t} by default.
20341 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20342 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20344 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20345 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20346 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20349 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20350 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20351 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20355 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20356 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20357 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20358 possible names is listed below.
20360 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20361 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20364 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20368 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20369 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20370 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20371 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20372 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20373 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20374 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20375 size spec per split.
20377 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20378 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20379 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20380 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20381 present) gets focus.
20383 Here's a more complicated example:
20386 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20387 (summary 0.25 point)
20388 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20392 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20393 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20394 occupy, not a percentage.
20396 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20397 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20398 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20399 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20400 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20403 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20406 (article (horizontal 1.0
20411 (summary 0.25 point)
20416 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20417 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20419 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20420 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20421 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20422 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20423 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20425 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20426 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20427 lines from the splits.
20429 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20433 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20434 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20435 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20436 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20437 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20438 size = number | frame-params
20439 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20442 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20443 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20444 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20445 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20447 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20448 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20449 @cindex window height
20450 @cindex window width
20451 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20452 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20453 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20454 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20455 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20456 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20458 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20459 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20460 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20461 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20463 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20464 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20465 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20466 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20467 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20468 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20469 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20470 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20471 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20472 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20473 configuration list.
20476 (gnus-configure-frame
20480 (article 0.3 point))
20488 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20489 @code{frame} split:
20492 (gnus-configure-frame
20495 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20497 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20498 (user-position . t)
20499 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20504 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20505 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20506 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20507 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20508 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20509 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20510 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20511 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20513 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20514 be found in its default value.
20516 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20517 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20518 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20522 (message (horizontal 1.0
20523 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20525 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20530 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20531 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20532 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20537 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20538 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20539 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20540 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20541 (name . "Message"))
20542 (message 1.0 point))))
20545 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20546 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20547 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20548 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20549 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20552 (gnus-add-configuration
20553 '(article (vertical 1.0
20555 (summary .25 point)
20559 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20560 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20561 Gnus has been loaded.
20563 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20564 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20565 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20566 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20567 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20569 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20570 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20571 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20574 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20578 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20579 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20594 (gnus-add-configuration
20597 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20599 (summary 0.16 point)
20602 (gnus-add-configuration
20605 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20606 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20612 @node Faces and Fonts
20613 @section Faces and Fonts
20618 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20619 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20620 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20625 @section Compilation
20626 @cindex compilation
20627 @cindex byte-compilation
20629 @findex gnus-compile
20631 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20632 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20633 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20634 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20635 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20636 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20639 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20640 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20641 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20642 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20643 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20644 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20645 them into the @file{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20649 @section Mode Lines
20652 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20653 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20654 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20655 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20656 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20657 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20658 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20661 @cindex display-time
20663 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20664 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20665 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20666 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20667 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20668 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20669 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20670 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20673 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20675 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20676 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20678 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20679 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20680 (length display-time-string)))))
20683 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20684 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20685 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20686 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20687 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20690 @node Highlighting and Menus
20691 @section Highlighting and Menus
20693 @cindex highlighting
20696 @vindex gnus-visual
20697 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20698 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20699 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20702 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20703 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20706 @item group-highlight
20707 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20708 @item summary-highlight
20709 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20710 @item article-highlight
20711 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20713 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20715 Create menus in the group buffer.
20717 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20719 Create menus in the article buffer.
20721 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20723 Create menus in the server buffer.
20725 Create menus in the score buffers.
20727 Create menus in all buffers.
20730 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20731 buffers, you could say something like:
20734 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20737 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20740 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20743 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20744 in all Gnus buffers.
20746 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20749 @item gnus-mouse-face
20750 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20751 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20752 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20756 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20760 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20761 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20762 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20764 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20765 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20766 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20768 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20769 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20770 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20772 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20773 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20774 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20776 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20777 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20778 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20780 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20781 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20782 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20793 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20794 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20795 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20796 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20797 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20801 @vindex gnus-carpal
20802 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20803 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20804 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20809 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20810 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20811 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20813 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20814 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20815 Face used on buttons.
20817 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20818 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20819 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20821 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20822 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20823 Buttons in the group buffer.
20825 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20826 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20827 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20829 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20830 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20831 Buttons in the server buffer.
20833 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20834 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20835 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20838 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20839 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20840 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20848 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20849 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20850 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20851 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20852 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20854 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20855 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20856 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20858 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20859 been idle for thirty minutes:
20862 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20865 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20869 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20872 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20873 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20874 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20876 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20877 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20878 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20879 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20881 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20882 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20883 @var{idle} minutes.
20885 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20886 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20889 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20890 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20891 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20893 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20894 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20895 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20896 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20898 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20899 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20901 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20903 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20906 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20907 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20908 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20909 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20910 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20911 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20912 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20913 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20914 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20915 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20916 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20918 @findex gnus-demon-init
20919 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20920 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20921 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20922 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20923 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20925 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20926 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20927 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20936 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20937 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20939 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20940 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20941 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20942 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20945 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20946 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20947 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20948 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20950 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20951 this will make spam disappear.
20953 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20956 @item gnus-use-nocem
20957 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20958 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20961 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20962 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20963 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20964 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20965 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20967 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20968 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20969 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20970 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20971 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20972 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20974 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20975 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20977 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20978 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20979 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20980 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20981 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20982 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20983 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20984 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20985 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20986 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20988 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20989 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20992 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20995 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20996 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20999 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21002 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21005 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21006 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21008 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21009 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21010 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21011 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21013 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21014 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21017 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21019 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21027 This might be dangerous, though.
21029 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21030 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21031 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
21032 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21034 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21035 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21036 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21037 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21038 might then see old spam.
21040 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21041 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21042 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21043 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21044 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21047 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21048 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21049 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21050 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21054 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21055 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21056 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21057 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21064 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21065 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21066 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21068 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21069 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21070 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21071 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21072 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21073 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21074 @code{undo} function.
21076 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21077 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21078 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21079 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21080 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21081 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21082 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21083 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21084 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21085 never be totally undoable.
21087 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21088 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21090 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21091 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21092 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21093 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21097 @node Predicate Specifiers
21098 @section Predicate Specifiers
21099 @cindex predicate specifiers
21101 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21102 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21103 to type all that much.
21105 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21110 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21111 gnus-article-unread-p)
21114 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21115 functions all take one parameter.
21117 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21118 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21119 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21120 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21125 @section Moderation
21128 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21129 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21130 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21133 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21137 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21140 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
21142 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21147 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21148 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21149 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21152 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21153 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21156 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21157 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21161 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21164 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21165 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21169 @node Image Enhancements
21170 @section Image Enhancements
21172 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
21173 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
21176 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21177 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21178 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21179 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21192 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21193 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21194 over your shoulder as you read news.
21196 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21205 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21206 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21207 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21208 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21209 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21210 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21211 @code{GIF} formats.
21214 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21215 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21216 point your Web browser at
21217 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21219 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21220 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21222 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21223 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21226 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21230 @item gnus-picon-databases
21231 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21232 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21233 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21234 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21235 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21237 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21238 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21239 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21240 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21242 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21243 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21244 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21245 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21247 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21248 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21249 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21250 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21251 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21253 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21254 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21255 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21256 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
21261 @subsection Smileys
21266 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21271 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21272 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21274 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21275 @file{.gnus.el} file:
21278 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21281 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21282 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21283 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21284 text and maps that to file names.
21286 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21287 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21288 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21289 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21290 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21293 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21298 @item smiley-data-directory
21299 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21300 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21302 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21303 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21304 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21313 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21314 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21315 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21319 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21320 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21321 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21322 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21330 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21331 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21332 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21333 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21335 The variable that controls this is the
21336 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21337 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21338 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21339 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21340 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21342 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21343 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21344 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21345 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21348 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21349 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21350 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21351 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21352 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21353 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21354 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21355 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21357 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21360 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21361 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21363 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21364 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21365 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21366 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21367 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21368 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21369 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21370 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21371 header data as a string.
21373 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21374 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21375 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21376 randomly generated data.
21378 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21379 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21380 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21381 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21382 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21384 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21385 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
21388 (setq message-required-news-headers
21389 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21390 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21393 Using the last function would be something like this:
21396 (setq message-required-news-headers
21397 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21398 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21399 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21400 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21405 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21408 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21409 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21410 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21411 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21412 unusual directory structure.
21414 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21415 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21416 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21417 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21419 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21420 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21421 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21422 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21423 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21424 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21426 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21427 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21428 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21433 @subsubsection Toolbar
21437 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21438 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21439 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21440 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21441 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21443 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21444 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21445 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21447 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21448 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21449 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21451 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21452 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21453 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21464 @node Fuzzy Matching
21465 @section Fuzzy Matching
21466 @cindex fuzzy matching
21468 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21469 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21471 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21472 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21473 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21475 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21476 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21477 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21478 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21479 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21482 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21483 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21487 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21489 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21490 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21491 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21492 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21493 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21494 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21495 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21496 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21499 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21500 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21501 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21502 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21503 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21504 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21506 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21509 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21510 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21511 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21512 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21513 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21514 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21517 @node The problem of spam
21518 @subsection The problem of spam
21520 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21521 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21523 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21525 First, some background on spam.
21527 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21528 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21529 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21530 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21531 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21532 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21533 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21534 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21536 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21537 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21538 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21539 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21540 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21541 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21542 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21543 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21544 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21547 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21548 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21549 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21550 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21551 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21552 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21553 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21554 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21555 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21556 mail can be useful.
21558 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21559 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21560 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21561 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21562 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21563 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21564 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21565 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21566 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21568 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21569 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21570 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21571 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21572 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21573 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21574 because of the incident.
21576 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21577 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21578 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21579 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21580 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21581 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21582 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21583 to store the database of spam analyses.
21585 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21586 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21590 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21592 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21593 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21595 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21596 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21597 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21598 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21599 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21600 part of the mail address.)
21603 (setq message-default-news-headers
21604 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21607 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21608 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21613 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21614 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21615 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21621 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21622 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21623 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21624 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21626 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21627 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21628 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21629 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21630 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21631 your fancy split rule in this way:
21636 (to "larsi" "misc")
21640 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21641 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21642 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21643 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21644 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21646 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21647 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21648 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21649 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21650 cosmic balance somewhat.
21652 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21653 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21654 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21655 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21660 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21661 @cindex SpamAssassin
21662 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21665 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21666 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21667 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21668 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21669 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21670 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21671 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21673 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21674 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21675 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21676 Specifiers}) follows.
21680 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21683 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21686 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21687 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21688 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21691 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21695 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21698 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21699 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21703 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21704 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21705 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21706 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21709 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21711 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21713 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21714 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21716 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21718 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21719 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21723 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21724 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21725 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21728 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21729 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21731 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21732 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21733 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21737 @subsection Hashcash
21740 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21741 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21742 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21743 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21744 in smaller communities.
21746 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21747 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21748 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21749 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21750 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21751 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21752 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21753 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21754 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21755 one of them separately.
21758 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21759 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21760 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21761 header. For more details, and for the external application
21762 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21763 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21764 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21766 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21770 (require 'hashcash)
21771 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21774 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21775 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21776 development contrib directory.
21778 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21782 @item hashcash-default-payment
21783 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21784 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21785 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21786 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21788 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21789 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21790 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21791 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
21792 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
21793 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
21794 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
21795 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
21796 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21800 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21804 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21805 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21806 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21807 a useful contribution, however.
21809 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21810 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21811 @cindex spam filtering
21814 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21815 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21816 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21817 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21820 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21821 the following keyboard commands:
21831 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21832 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21834 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
21835 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21836 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21837 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21843 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21844 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21846 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21852 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21853 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21856 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21857 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21858 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21859 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21860 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21861 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21862 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21863 will be detected later.
21865 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21866 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21867 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21868 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21869 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21870 by customizing the corresponding variable
21871 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21872 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21873 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21874 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21875 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21876 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21877 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21880 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21881 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21882 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
21883 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
21884 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
21885 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21886 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21887 will study them as spam samples.
21889 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21890 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21891 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21892 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21893 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21894 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21895 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21896 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21898 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21899 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21900 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21901 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21904 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21905 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21906 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21909 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21910 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21911 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21912 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21913 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21914 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
21917 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21918 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21919 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21920 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21921 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21922 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21923 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21924 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21925 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21926 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21927 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21929 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21930 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21932 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21933 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21934 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21935 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21936 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21937 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21938 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21939 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21940 the spam articles are only expired.
21942 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21943 must add the following to your fancy split list
21944 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21950 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21951 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21952 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21954 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21955 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21956 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21957 but you can customize it.
21959 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21961 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21962 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21963 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21964 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21965 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21966 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21967 because it will slow IMAP down.
21969 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21971 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21972 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21973 longer spam or ham.}
21975 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21976 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21979 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21980 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21983 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21984 * BBDB Whitelists::
21986 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
21988 * ifile spam filtering::
21989 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21990 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21993 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21994 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21995 @cindex spam filtering
21996 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21997 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22000 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22002 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22003 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22004 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22005 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22010 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22012 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22013 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22014 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22015 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22016 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22020 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22022 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22023 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22024 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22028 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22030 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22031 customizing the group parameters or the
22032 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22033 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22034 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22038 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22040 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22041 customizing the group parameters or the
22042 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22043 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22044 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22045 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22046 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22050 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22051 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22052 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22053 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22054 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22056 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22057 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22058 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22059 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22061 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22062 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22063 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22064 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22065 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22066 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22068 @node BBDB Whitelists
22069 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22070 @cindex spam filtering
22071 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22072 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22075 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22077 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22078 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22079 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22080 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22081 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22082 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22083 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22087 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22089 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22090 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22091 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22092 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22093 classified as spammers.
22097 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22099 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22100 customizing the group parameters or the
22101 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22102 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22103 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22104 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22105 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22110 @subsubsection Blackholes
22111 @cindex spam filtering
22112 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22115 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22117 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22118 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22119 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22120 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22121 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22122 contains outdated servers.
22124 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22125 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22126 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
22127 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
22128 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
22129 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22133 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22135 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22139 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22141 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22142 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
22146 @defvar spam-use-dig
22148 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22149 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22153 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22154 ham processor for blackholes.
22156 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22157 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22158 @cindex spam filtering
22159 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22162 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22164 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22165 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22166 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22167 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22168 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22169 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22173 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22175 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22176 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22180 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22182 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22183 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22187 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22188 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22191 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22192 @cindex spam filtering
22193 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22196 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22198 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22201 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22202 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22203 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22204 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22205 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22206 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22208 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22209 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22212 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22213 processing will be turned off.
22215 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22219 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22221 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22222 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22223 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22224 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22225 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22226 installation documents for details.
22228 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22232 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22233 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22234 customizing the group parameters or the
22235 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22236 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22237 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22240 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22241 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22242 customizing the group parameters or the
22243 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22244 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22245 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22246 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22247 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22250 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22252 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22253 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22254 database directory.
22258 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22259 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22260 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22261 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22262 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22263 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22265 @node ifile spam filtering
22266 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22267 @cindex spam filtering
22268 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22271 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22273 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22274 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22278 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22280 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22281 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22282 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22286 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22288 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22289 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22290 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22293 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22295 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22296 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22300 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22301 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22302 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22303 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22306 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22307 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22308 @cindex spam filtering
22309 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22313 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22315 @defvar spam-use-stat
22317 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22318 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22322 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22323 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22324 customizing the group parameters or the
22325 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22326 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22327 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22330 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22331 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22332 customizing the group parameters or the
22333 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22334 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22335 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22336 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22337 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22340 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22341 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22342 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22343 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22346 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22347 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22348 @cindex spam filtering
22349 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22350 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22352 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22353 incoming mail, provide the following:
22361 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22362 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22367 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22369 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22374 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22375 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22376 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22378 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22379 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22380 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22384 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22391 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22392 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22395 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22396 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22397 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22399 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22400 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22401 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22409 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22410 (spam-generic-register-routine
22411 ;; the spam function
22413 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22414 (when (stringp from)
22415 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22416 ;; the ham function
22419 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22420 (spam-generic-register-routine
22421 ;; the spam function
22423 ;; the ham function
22425 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22426 (when (stringp from)
22427 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22430 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22431 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22432 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22433 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22434 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22435 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22440 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22441 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22442 @cindex Paul Graham
22443 @cindex Graham, Paul
22444 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22445 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22446 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22448 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22449 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22450 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22451 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22452 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22453 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22454 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22455 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22456 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22459 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22460 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22461 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22462 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22463 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22464 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22465 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22466 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22468 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22469 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22470 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22471 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22472 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22475 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22476 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22477 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22480 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22481 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22483 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22484 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22485 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22486 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22487 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22489 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22490 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22491 per mail. Use the following:
22493 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22494 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22495 is treated as one spam mail.
22498 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22499 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22500 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22503 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22504 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22505 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22506 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22507 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22508 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22510 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22511 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22512 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22513 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22514 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22517 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22518 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22519 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22520 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22523 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22524 reset the dictionary.
22526 @defun spam-stat-reset
22527 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22530 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22531 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22532 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22533 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22534 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22535 only non-spam mails.
22537 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22538 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22539 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22542 @defun spam-stat-save
22543 Save the dictionary.
22546 @defvar spam-stat-file
22547 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22548 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22551 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22552 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22554 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22555 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22558 (require 'spam-stat)
22562 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22565 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22566 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22567 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22568 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22570 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22571 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22572 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22573 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22576 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22577 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22581 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22582 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22585 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22586 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22587 expression are considered potential spam.
22590 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22591 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22592 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22596 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22597 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22598 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22599 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22600 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22603 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22604 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22605 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22609 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22610 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22611 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22612 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22613 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22617 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22618 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22619 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22620 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22625 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22626 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22628 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22630 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22631 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22632 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22635 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22636 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22637 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22640 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22641 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22642 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22643 already been processed as non-spam.
22646 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22647 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22648 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22649 been processed as spam.
22652 @defun spam-stat-save
22653 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22654 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22657 @defun spam-stat-load
22658 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22659 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22662 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22663 Return the spam score for a word.
22666 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22667 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22670 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22671 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22672 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22675 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22676 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22679 (require 'spam-stat)
22683 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22686 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22687 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22688 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22689 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22690 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22691 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22692 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22693 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22694 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22695 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22696 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22697 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22698 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22699 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22702 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22705 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22706 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22707 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22708 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22709 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22710 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22713 @node Various Various
22714 @section Various Various
22720 @item gnus-home-directory
22721 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22722 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22723 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22725 @item gnus-directory
22726 @vindex gnus-directory
22727 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22728 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22729 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22731 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22732 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22733 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22734 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22736 @item gnus-default-directory
22737 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22738 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22739 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22740 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22741 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22742 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22743 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22746 @vindex gnus-verbose
22747 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22748 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22749 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22750 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22751 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22753 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22754 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22755 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22756 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22758 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22759 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22760 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22761 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22762 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22763 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22764 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22765 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22766 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22767 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22769 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22770 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22771 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22772 read when doing the operation described above.
22774 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22775 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22777 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22778 @cindex characters in file names
22779 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22780 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22781 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22784 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22788 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22789 Windows (phooey) systems.
22791 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22792 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22793 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22794 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22795 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22797 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22798 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22799 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22800 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22801 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22803 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22804 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22805 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22807 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22808 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22810 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22811 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22812 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22813 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22816 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22824 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22825 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22827 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22829 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22835 Not because of victories @*
22838 but for the common sunshine,@*
22840 the largess of the spring.
22844 but for the day's work done@*
22845 as well as I was able;@*
22846 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22847 but at the common table.@*
22852 @chapter Appendices
22855 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22856 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22857 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22858 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22859 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22860 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22861 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22862 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22863 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22870 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22872 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22873 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22874 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22875 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22876 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22877 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22884 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22885 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22887 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22888 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22889 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22890 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22891 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22893 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22894 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22895 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22896 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22897 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22898 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22900 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22901 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22902 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22903 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22906 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22907 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22908 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22909 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22910 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22911 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22912 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22913 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22914 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22918 @node Gnus Versions
22919 @subsection Gnus Versions
22921 @cindex September Gnus
22923 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22924 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22928 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22929 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22930 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22932 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22933 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22935 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22936 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22938 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22939 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22941 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22942 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22945 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22947 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22948 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22949 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22950 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22951 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22952 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22955 @node Other Gnus Versions
22956 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22959 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22960 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22961 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22962 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22964 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22965 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22966 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22967 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22974 What's the point of Gnus?
22976 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22977 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22978 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22979 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22980 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22981 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22982 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22983 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22984 keep track of millions of people who post?
22986 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22987 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22988 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22989 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22990 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22991 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22992 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22993 every one of you to explore and invent.
22995 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22996 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22999 @node Compatibility
23000 @subsection Compatibility
23002 @cindex compatibility
23003 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23004 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23005 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23010 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23014 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23017 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23020 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23021 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23022 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23023 important variables have their values copied into their global
23024 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23025 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23027 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23028 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23029 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23030 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23031 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23035 @cindex highlighting
23036 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23037 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23038 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23039 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23040 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23041 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23044 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23045 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23046 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23047 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23049 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23050 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23051 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23052 to stop doing it the old way.
23054 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23056 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23058 @cindex reporting bugs
23060 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23061 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23062 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23064 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23065 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23066 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23067 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23072 @subsection Conformity
23074 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23075 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23083 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23087 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23089 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23090 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23091 We do have some breaches to this one.
23097 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23098 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23099 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23100 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23101 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23106 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23107 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23108 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23109 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23111 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23113 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
23115 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23116 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23118 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23121 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
23122 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
23123 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
23124 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
23125 decoding (verification and decryption).
23127 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23128 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23129 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23130 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23132 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23133 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
23135 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23136 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
23137 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
23138 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
23139 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
23140 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
23141 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
23145 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23146 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23151 @subsection Emacsen
23157 Gnus should work on :
23165 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
23169 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23170 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23173 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23174 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23175 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23179 @node Gnus Development
23180 @subsection Gnus Development
23182 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23183 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23184 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23185 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23186 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23187 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23188 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23189 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23191 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23192 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23193 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23194 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23195 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23198 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23199 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23200 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23201 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23202 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23204 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23205 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23206 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23207 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23208 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23209 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23210 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23211 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23212 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23213 can't be assumed to do so.
23218 @subsection Contributors
23219 @cindex contributors
23221 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23222 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23223 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23224 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23225 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23226 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23227 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23228 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23229 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23230 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23232 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23238 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23241 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23242 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
23243 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23244 functionality and stuff.
23247 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23248 well as numerous other things).
23251 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23254 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23257 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
23260 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23263 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23264 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23267 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23270 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23271 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23274 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23277 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23280 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23283 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23286 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23287 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23290 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23293 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23296 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23299 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23303 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23306 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23309 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23312 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23313 well as autoconf support.
23317 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23318 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23320 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23329 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23333 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23343 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23358 Massimo Campostrini,
23363 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23364 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23368 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23371 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23377 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23382 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23386 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23394 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23396 Michelangelo Grigni,
23400 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23402 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
23404 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23411 François Felix Ingrand,
23412 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
23413 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23415 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23426 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23427 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23429 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23430 Thor Kristoffersen,
23433 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23451 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23452 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23459 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23464 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23468 John McClary Prevost,
23474 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23479 Christian von Roques,
23482 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23489 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23491 Randal L. Schwartz,
23505 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23510 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23526 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23531 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23532 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23533 (550kB and counting).
23535 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23538 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23539 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23543 @subsection New Features
23544 @cindex new features
23547 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23548 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23549 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23550 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23551 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23554 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23555 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23556 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23559 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23561 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23566 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23567 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23570 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23571 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23574 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23577 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23578 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23579 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23582 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23583 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23584 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23585 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23588 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23589 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23592 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23593 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23594 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23597 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23598 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23601 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23602 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23603 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23606 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23607 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23608 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23611 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23612 the @file{.emacs} file.
23615 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23616 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23619 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23620 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23623 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23624 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23627 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23628 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23631 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23632 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23635 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23638 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23639 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23642 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23643 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23646 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23647 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23650 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23653 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23654 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23657 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23661 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23665 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23666 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23669 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23675 @node September Gnus
23676 @subsubsection September Gnus
23680 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23684 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23689 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23690 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23694 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23695 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23699 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23703 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23704 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23707 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23711 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23714 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23717 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23720 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23724 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23725 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23728 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23732 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23736 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23740 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23744 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23747 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23748 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23751 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23755 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23756 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23759 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23762 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23763 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23764 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23767 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23771 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23774 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23778 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23779 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23782 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23783 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23786 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23787 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23790 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23791 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23792 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23795 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23796 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23799 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23802 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23805 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23808 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23811 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23812 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23815 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23819 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23822 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23827 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23830 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23834 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23837 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23841 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23844 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23847 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23848 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23851 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23852 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23856 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23857 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23860 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23864 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23865 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23868 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23871 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23875 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23879 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23880 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23883 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23887 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23888 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23891 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23892 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23895 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23899 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23902 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23905 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23911 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23913 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23917 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23924 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23927 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23928 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23931 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23932 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23936 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23937 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23940 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23943 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23944 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23947 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23951 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23952 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23956 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23957 Server Internals}).
23960 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23964 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23967 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23968 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23971 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23972 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23973 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23976 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23977 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23980 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23981 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23984 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23988 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23989 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23992 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23993 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23996 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24000 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24003 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24007 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24008 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24011 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24012 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24015 A new command for reading collections of documents
24016 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24017 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24020 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24024 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
24025 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24028 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24029 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24030 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24033 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24034 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24038 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24042 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24046 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24051 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24055 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24059 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24060 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24063 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24069 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24071 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24076 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24077 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24078 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24081 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24082 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24083 group, which is created automatically.
24086 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24090 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24093 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24094 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24097 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24101 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24104 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24105 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24108 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24111 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24112 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24115 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24116 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24119 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24120 control over simplification.
24123 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24126 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24130 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24133 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24136 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24137 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24138 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24141 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24142 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24145 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24149 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24150 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24153 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24154 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
24157 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24161 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24164 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24167 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24168 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24171 A new function for citing in Message has been
24172 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24175 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24178 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24182 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24183 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24186 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24187 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24190 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24193 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24197 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24198 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24200 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24205 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24206 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24208 If you used procmail like in
24211 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24212 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24213 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24214 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24217 this now has changed to
24221 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24225 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24226 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24229 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24230 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24233 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24234 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24237 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24238 called to position point.
24241 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24242 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
24245 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24246 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24249 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24250 subtly different manner.
24253 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24254 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24255 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24258 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24266 @section The Manual
24270 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
24271 either @code{texi2dvi}
24273 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
24274 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
24276 to get what you hold in your hands now.
24278 The following conventions have been used:
24283 This is a @samp{string}
24286 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
24289 This is a @file{file}
24292 This is a @code{symbol}
24296 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
24300 (setq flargnoze "yes")
24303 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
24306 (setq flumphel 'yes)
24309 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
24310 ever get them confused.
24314 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
24315 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
24316 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
24317 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
24318 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
24319 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
24320 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
24326 @node On Writing Manuals
24327 @section On Writing Manuals
24329 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
24330 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
24331 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
24332 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
24333 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
24334 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
24337 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
24338 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
24339 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
24342 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
24343 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
24348 @section Terminology
24350 @cindex terminology
24355 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
24356 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
24357 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
24358 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
24359 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
24363 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
24364 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
24365 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
24366 not posting, and replying is not following up.
24370 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
24374 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
24379 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
24380 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
24381 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
24382 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
24383 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
24384 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
24385 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
24386 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
24387 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
24389 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
24390 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
24391 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
24392 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
24393 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
24396 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24397 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24398 access the articles.
24400 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24401 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24402 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24407 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24408 default, way of getting news.
24412 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24413 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24418 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24419 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24423 A message that has been posted as news.
24426 @cindex mail message
24427 A message that has been mailed.
24431 A mail message or news article
24435 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24440 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24445 A line from the head of an article.
24449 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24450 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24454 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24455 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24456 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24457 normal @sc{head} format.
24461 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24462 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24463 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24464 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24465 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24466 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24468 @item killed groups
24469 @cindex killed groups
24470 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24471 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24473 @item zombie groups
24474 @cindex zombie groups
24475 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24478 @cindex active file
24479 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24480 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24481 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24484 @cindex bogus groups
24485 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24486 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24487 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24490 @cindex activating groups
24491 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24492 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24493 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24497 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24499 @item select method
24500 @cindex select method
24501 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24504 @item virtual server
24505 @cindex virtual server
24506 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24507 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24508 whole is a virtual server.
24512 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24513 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24516 @item ephemeral groups
24517 @cindex ephemeral groups
24518 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24519 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24520 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24523 @cindex solid groups
24524 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24525 group buffer are solid groups.
24527 @item sparse articles
24528 @cindex sparse articles
24529 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24530 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24534 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24535 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24539 @cindex thread root
24540 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24541 articles in the thread.
24545 An article that has responses.
24549 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24553 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24554 specified by RFC 1153.
24560 @node Customization
24561 @section Customization
24562 @cindex general customization
24564 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24565 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24566 for some quite common situations.
24569 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24570 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24571 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24572 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24576 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24577 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24579 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24580 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24581 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24585 @item gnus-read-active-file
24586 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24587 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24588 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24589 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24590 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24592 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24593 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24594 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24595 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24599 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24600 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24602 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24603 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24604 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24608 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24609 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24610 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24611 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24612 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24614 @item gnus-visible-headers
24615 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24616 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24617 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24618 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24620 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24622 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24623 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24624 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24627 @item gnus-use-full-window
24628 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24629 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24630 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24631 want to read them anyway.
24633 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24634 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24638 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24639 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24640 lines, which might save some time.
24644 @node Little Disk Space
24645 @subsection Little Disk Space
24648 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24649 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24653 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24654 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24655 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24656 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24659 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24660 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24661 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24662 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24665 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24666 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24667 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24668 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24669 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24675 @subsection Slow Machine
24676 @cindex slow machine
24678 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24679 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24681 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24682 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24684 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24685 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24686 summary buffer faster.
24690 @node Troubleshooting
24691 @section Troubleshooting
24692 @cindex troubleshooting
24694 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24702 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24705 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24706 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24710 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24711 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
24712 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
24713 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24716 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24720 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24721 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24722 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24723 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24724 something like that.
24727 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24730 @cindex reporting bugs
24732 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24734 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24735 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24736 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24737 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24739 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24740 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24741 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24742 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24745 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24746 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24747 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24748 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24749 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24750 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24752 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24753 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24754 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24758 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24759 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24762 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24763 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24764 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24765 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24766 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24767 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24768 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24769 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24770 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24771 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24772 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24773 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24774 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24775 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24780 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24781 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24782 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-j} when things are
24783 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24784 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24785 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24786 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24787 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24788 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24789 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET message}. Then perform
24790 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24791 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24792 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24793 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24794 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24795 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24796 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24797 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24799 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24800 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24802 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24803 @cindex ding mailing list
24804 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@email{ding@@gnus.org}.
24805 Write to @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24809 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24810 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24812 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24813 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24814 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24815 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24818 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24819 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24820 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24821 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24822 and general methods of operation.
24825 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24826 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24827 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24828 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24829 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24830 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24831 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24832 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24833 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24837 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24838 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24839 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24840 @cindex utility functions
24842 @cindex internal variables
24844 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24845 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24846 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24850 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24851 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24852 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24854 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24855 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24856 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24858 @item gnus-group-real-name
24859 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24860 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24863 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24864 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24865 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24866 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24868 @item gnus-get-info
24869 @findex gnus-get-info
24870 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24872 @item gnus-group-unread
24873 @findex gnus-group-unread
24874 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24878 @findex gnus-active
24879 The active entry for @var{group}.
24881 @item gnus-set-active
24882 @findex gnus-set-active
24883 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24885 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24886 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24887 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24890 @item gnus-continuum-version
24891 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24892 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24893 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24896 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24897 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24898 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24900 @item gnus-news-group-p
24901 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24902 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24904 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24905 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24906 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24908 @item gnus-server-to-method
24909 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24910 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24912 @item gnus-server-equal
24913 @findex gnus-server-equal
24914 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24916 @item gnus-group-native-p
24917 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24918 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24920 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24921 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24922 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24924 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24925 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24926 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24928 @item group-group-find-parameter
24929 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24930 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24931 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24933 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24934 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24935 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24937 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24938 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24939 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24941 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24942 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24943 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24944 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24947 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24951 @item gnus-read-method
24952 @findex gnus-read-method
24953 Prompts the user for a select method.
24958 @node Back End Interface
24959 @subsection Back End Interface
24961 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24962 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24963 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24964 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24965 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24966 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24968 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24969 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24970 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24971 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24972 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24973 been opened, the function should fail.
24975 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24976 name. Take this example:
24980 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24981 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24984 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24985 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24987 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24988 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24989 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24991 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24992 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24993 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24995 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24996 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24997 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24998 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24999 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25000 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25003 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25004 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25005 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25006 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25009 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25010 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25011 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25012 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25013 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25014 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25015 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25016 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25017 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25018 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25020 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25021 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25022 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25023 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25024 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25025 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25026 of numbers as long as possible.
25028 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25029 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25030 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25032 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25035 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25038 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25039 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25040 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25041 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25042 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25043 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25047 @node Required Back End Functions
25048 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25052 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25054 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25055 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25056 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25057 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25059 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
25060 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25061 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25062 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25064 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25065 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
25066 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
25067 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
25068 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
25069 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
25070 number, do maximum fetches.
25072 Here's an example HEAD:
25075 221 1056 Article retrieved.
25076 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
25077 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
25078 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
25079 Subject: Re: Something very droll
25080 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
25081 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
25083 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
25084 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
25085 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
25089 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
25090 these in the data buffer.
25092 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
25096 head = error / valid-head
25097 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
25098 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
25099 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
25100 header = <text> eol
25104 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
25106 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
25107 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
25111 nov-buffer = *nov-line
25112 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
25113 field = <text except TAB>
25116 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
25120 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
25122 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
25123 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
25125 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
25126 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
25127 server. In fact, it should do so.
25129 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
25130 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
25133 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
25135 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
25136 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
25139 There should be no data returned.
25142 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
25144 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
25145 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
25146 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
25147 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
25149 There should be no data returned.
25152 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
25154 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
25155 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
25156 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
25157 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
25159 There should be no data returned.
25162 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
25164 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
25166 There should be no data returned.
25169 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
25171 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
25172 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
25173 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
25174 it would be nice if that were possible.
25176 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
25177 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
25178 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
25179 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
25180 into its article buffer.
25182 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
25183 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
25184 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
25185 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
25186 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
25187 on successful article retrieval.
25190 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
25192 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
25193 making @var{group} the current group.
25195 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
25198 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
25201 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
25204 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
25205 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
25206 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
25207 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
25208 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
25209 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
25210 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
25211 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
25212 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
25216 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
25217 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
25218 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
25222 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25224 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
25225 a no-op on most back ends.
25227 There should be no data returned.
25230 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
25232 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
25235 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
25238 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
25239 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
25242 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
25243 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
25244 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
25245 and the highest as 0.
25248 active-file = *active-line
25249 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
25251 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
25254 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
25255 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
25256 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
25259 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
25261 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
25262 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
25263 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
25264 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
25265 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
25266 clear if the posting could not be completed.
25268 There should be no result data from this function.
25273 @node Optional Back End Functions
25274 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
25278 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
25280 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
25281 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
25282 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
25284 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
25285 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
25286 former is in the same format as the data from
25287 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
25288 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
25291 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
25295 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
25297 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
25298 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
25299 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
25300 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
25301 should return a non-nil value.
25303 There should be no result data from this function.
25306 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
25308 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
25309 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
25310 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
25311 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
25312 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
25313 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
25314 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
25315 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
25317 There should be no result data from this function.
25320 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
25322 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
25323 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
25324 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
25325 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
25326 propagate the mark information to the server.
25328 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
25331 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
25334 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
25335 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
25336 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
25337 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
25338 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
25339 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
25340 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
25341 possible, not limit itself to these.
25343 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
25344 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
25345 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
25346 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
25348 An example action list:
25351 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
25352 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
25353 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
25356 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
25357 mark on (currently not used for anything).
25359 There should be no result data from this function.
25361 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
25363 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
25364 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
25365 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
25366 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
25367 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
25369 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
25370 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
25371 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
25374 There should be no result data from this function.
25377 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
25379 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
25380 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
25381 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
25382 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
25383 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
25384 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
25385 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
25387 There should be no result data from this function.
25390 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
25392 The result data from this function should be a description of
25396 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
25398 description = <text>
25401 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25403 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25404 groups available on the server.
25407 description-buffer = *description-line
25411 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25413 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25414 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25415 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25416 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25417 in the active buffer format.
25419 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25420 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25421 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25422 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25423 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25424 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25425 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25428 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25430 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25432 There should be no return data.
25435 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25437 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25438 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25439 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25440 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25441 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25444 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25447 There should be no result data returned.
25450 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25452 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25453 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25455 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25456 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25457 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25458 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25459 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25460 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25462 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25463 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25466 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25467 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25469 There should be no data returned.
25472 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25474 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25475 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25476 this function in short order.
25478 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25479 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25481 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25482 article for that group.
25484 There should be no data returned.
25487 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25489 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25490 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25492 There should be no data returned.
25495 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25497 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25498 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25499 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25501 There should be no data returned.
25504 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25506 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25507 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25509 There should be no data returned.
25514 @node Error Messaging
25515 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25517 @findex nnheader-report
25518 @findex nnheader-get-report
25519 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25520 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25521 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25522 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25523 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25524 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25527 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25529 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25532 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25533 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25534 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25535 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25537 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25538 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25539 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25542 @node Writing New Back Ends
25543 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25545 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25546 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25547 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25548 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25549 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25552 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25553 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25554 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25556 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25557 package called @code{nnoo}.
25559 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25560 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25566 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25567 parameters. For instance:
25570 (nnoo-declare nndir
25574 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25575 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25578 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25579 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25580 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25582 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25583 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25584 a function in those back ends.
25587 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25588 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25589 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25592 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25593 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25594 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25596 @item nnoo-define-basics
25597 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25601 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25605 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25606 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25607 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25609 @item nnoo-map-functions
25610 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25611 functions from the parent back ends.
25614 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25615 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25616 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25619 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25620 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25621 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25622 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25625 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25626 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25627 haven't already been defined.
25633 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25637 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25638 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25639 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25644 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25647 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25648 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25652 (require 'nnheader)
25656 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25658 (nnoo-declare nndir
25661 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25662 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25663 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25665 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25666 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25669 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25671 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25672 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25673 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25675 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25676 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25678 ;;; Interface functions.
25680 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25682 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25683 (setq nndir-directory
25684 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25686 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25687 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25688 (push `(nndir-current-group
25689 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25690 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25692 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25693 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25695 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25697 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25698 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25699 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25700 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25701 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25705 nnmh-status-message
25707 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25713 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25714 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25716 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25717 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25718 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25719 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25720 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25722 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25723 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25728 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25731 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25733 The abilities can be:
25737 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25739 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25741 This back end supports both mail and news.
25743 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25746 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25747 articles and groups.
25749 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25750 true for almost all back ends.
25751 @item prompt-address
25752 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25753 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25754 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25758 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25759 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25761 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25762 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25763 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25764 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25767 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25768 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25769 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25772 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25773 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25776 This function takes four parameters.
25780 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25783 @item exit-function
25784 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25786 @item temp-directory
25787 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25790 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25791 performed for one group only.
25794 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25795 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25796 find the article number assigned to this article.
25798 The function also uses the following variables:
25799 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25800 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25801 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25802 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25806 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25807 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25811 @node Score File Syntax
25812 @subsection Score File Syntax
25814 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25815 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25816 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25818 Here's a typical score file:
25822 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25829 BNF definition of a score file:
25832 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25833 element = rule / atom
25834 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25835 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25836 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25837 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25839 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25840 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25841 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25842 date-header = "date"
25843 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25844 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25845 score = "nil" / <integer>
25846 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25847 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25848 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25849 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25850 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25851 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25852 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25853 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25854 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25855 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25856 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25857 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25858 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25859 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25860 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25861 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25862 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25863 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25864 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25865 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25866 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25867 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25868 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25869 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25870 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25871 eval = "eval" space <form>
25872 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25875 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25878 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25879 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25880 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25881 one looong line, then that's ok.
25883 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25884 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25888 @subsection Headers
25890 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25891 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25892 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25893 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25895 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25896 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25897 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25898 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25899 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25900 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25901 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25903 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25904 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25905 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25906 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25907 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25909 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25910 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25916 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25917 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25919 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25920 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25921 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25922 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25924 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25928 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25931 is transformed into
25934 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25937 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25938 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25941 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25944 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25945 is slightly tricky:
25948 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25954 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25957 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25963 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25970 and is equal to the previous range.
25972 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25973 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25974 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25978 range = simple-range / normal-range
25979 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25980 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25981 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25982 number *[ " " contents ]
25985 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25986 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25987 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25988 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25989 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25994 @subsection Group Info
25996 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25997 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25998 describes the group.
26000 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26001 second is a more complex one:
26004 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26006 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26007 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26009 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26012 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26013 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26014 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26015 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26016 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26017 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26018 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26019 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26020 this section is about.
26022 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26023 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26024 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26026 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26029 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26030 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26031 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26032 group = quote <string> quote
26033 ralevel = rank / level
26034 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26035 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26036 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26038 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26039 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26040 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26041 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26044 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26045 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26048 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26049 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26052 @item gnus-info-group
26053 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26054 @findex gnus-info-group
26055 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26056 Get/set the group name.
26058 @item gnus-info-rank
26059 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26060 @findex gnus-info-rank
26061 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26062 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26064 @item gnus-info-level
26065 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
26066 @findex gnus-info-level
26067 @findex gnus-info-set-level
26068 Get/set the group level.
26070 @item gnus-info-score
26071 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
26072 @findex gnus-info-score
26073 @findex gnus-info-set-score
26074 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
26076 @item gnus-info-read
26077 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
26078 @findex gnus-info-read
26079 @findex gnus-info-set-read
26080 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
26082 @item gnus-info-marks
26083 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
26084 @findex gnus-info-marks
26085 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
26086 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
26088 @item gnus-info-method
26089 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
26090 @findex gnus-info-method
26091 @findex gnus-info-set-method
26092 Get/set the group select method.
26094 @item gnus-info-params
26095 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
26096 @findex gnus-info-params
26097 @findex gnus-info-set-params
26098 Get/set the group parameters.
26101 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
26102 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
26104 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
26105 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
26106 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
26107 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
26110 @node Extended Interactive
26111 @subsection Extended Interactive
26112 @cindex interactive
26113 @findex gnus-interactive
26115 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
26116 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
26117 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
26120 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
26121 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
26126 The best thing to do would have been to implement
26127 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
26128 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
26129 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
26130 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
26131 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
26132 @code{interactive}.
26134 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
26139 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
26140 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
26144 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
26145 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
26146 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
26149 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
26153 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
26157 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
26163 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
26164 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
26168 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
26169 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
26170 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
26172 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
26173 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
26174 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
26175 Gnus, that's very useful.
26177 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
26178 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
26179 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
26180 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
26181 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
26182 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
26183 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
26184 following function:
26187 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
26191 (,function ,@@args))
26195 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
26196 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
26197 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
26200 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
26201 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
26202 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
26204 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
26205 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
26206 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
26209 @node Various File Formats
26210 @subsection Various File Formats
26213 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
26214 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
26218 @node Active File Format
26219 @subsubsection Active File Format
26221 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
26222 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
26225 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
26228 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
26229 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
26230 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
26231 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
26232 no.general 1000 900 y
26235 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
26238 active = *group-line
26239 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
26240 group = <non-white-space string>
26242 high-number = <non-negative integer>
26243 low-number = <positive integer>
26244 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
26247 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
26248 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
26251 @node Newsgroups File Format
26252 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
26254 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
26255 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
26256 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
26259 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
26260 Here's the definition:
26264 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
26265 group = <non-white-space string>
26267 description = <string>
26272 @node Emacs for Heathens
26273 @section Emacs for Heathens
26275 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
26276 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
26277 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
26278 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
26279 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
26280 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
26281 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
26285 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
26286 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
26291 @subsection Keystrokes
26295 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
26298 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
26301 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
26302 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
26303 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
26304 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
26305 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
26306 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
26308 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
26309 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
26310 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
26311 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
26312 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
26313 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
26314 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
26316 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
26317 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
26318 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
26319 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
26320 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
26321 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
26322 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
26324 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
26325 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
26326 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
26327 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
26328 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
26334 @subsection Emacs Lisp
26336 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
26337 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
26338 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
26339 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
26341 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
26342 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
26343 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
26344 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
26345 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
26346 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
26347 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
26350 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
26351 write the following:
26354 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
26357 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
26358 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
26359 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
26362 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
26363 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
26364 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
26365 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
26366 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
26368 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
26369 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
26370 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
26374 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
26378 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
26381 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
26382 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
26385 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
26388 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
26389 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
26392 @include gnus-faq.texi
26412 @c Local Variables:
26414 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26416 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26417 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26418 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26419 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26420 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref