Mercurial > emacs
changeset 84299:34ba5367ab56
Move here from ../../man
| author | Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Thu, 06 Sep 2007 05:00:17 +0000 |
| parents | a475365b2236 |
| children | 3ba0a5d9a8d0 |
| files | doc/misc/gnus-faq.texi |
| diffstat | 1 files changed, 2307 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-) [+] |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/doc/misc/gnus-faq.texi Thu Sep 06 05:00:17 2007 +0000 @@ -0,0 +1,2307 @@ +@c \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- +@c Uncomment 1st line before texing this file alone. +@c %**start of header +@c Copyright (C) 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +@c +@c Do not modify this file, it was generated from gnus-faq.xml, available from +@c <URL:http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/>. +@c +@setfilename gnus-faq.info +@settitle Frequently Asked Questions +@c %**end of header +@c + +@node Frequently Asked Questions +@section Frequently Asked Questions + +@menu +* FAQ - Changes:: +* FAQ - Introduction:: About Gnus and this FAQ. +* FAQ 1 - Installation FAQ:: Installation of Gnus. +* FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer:: Start up questions and the + first buffer Gnus shows you. +* FAQ 3 - Getting Messages:: Making Gnus read your mail + and news. +* FAQ 4 - Reading messages:: How to efficiently read + messages. +* FAQ 5 - Composing messages:: Composing mails or Usenet + postings. +* FAQ 6 - Old messages:: Importing, archiving, + searching and deleting messages. +* FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment:: Reading mail and news while + offline. +* FAQ 8 - Getting help:: When this FAQ isn't enough. +* FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus:: How to make Gnus faster. +* FAQ - Glossary:: Terms used in the FAQ + explained. +@end menu + +@subheading Abstract + +This is the new Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list. +If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at +@uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}, +the Docbook source is available from +@uref{http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnus/, http://sourceforge.net}. + +Please submit features and suggestions to the +@email{faq-discuss@@my.gnus.org, FAQ discussion list}. +The list is protected against junk mail with +@uref{http://smarden.org/qconfirm/index.html, qconfirm}. As +a subscriber, your submissions will automatically pass. You can +also subscribe to the list by sending a blank email to +@email{faq-discuss-subscribe@@my.gnus.org, faq-discuss-subscribe@@my.gnus.org} +and @uref{http://mail1.kens.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-browse?command=monthbythread%26list=faq-discuss, browse +the archive (BROKEN)}. + +@node FAQ - Changes +@subheading Changes + + + +@itemize @bullet + +@item +Updated FAQ to reflect release of Gnus 5.10 and start of +No Gnus development. +@end itemize + +@node FAQ - Introduction +@subheading Introduction + +This is the Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list. + +Gnus is a Usenet Newsreader and Electronic Mail User Agent implemented +as a part of Emacs. It's been around in some form for almost a decade +now, and has been distributed as a standard part of Emacs for much of +that time. Gnus 5 is the latest (and greatest) incarnation. The +original version was called GNUS, and was written by Masanobu UMEDA. +When autumn crept up in '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and +decided to rewrite Gnus. + +Its biggest strength is the fact that it is extremely +customizable. It is somewhat intimidating at first glance, but +most of the complexity can be ignored until you're ready to take +advantage of it. If you receive a reasonable volume of e-mail +(you're on various mailing lists), or you would like to read +high-volume mailing lists but cannot keep up with them, or read +high volume newsgroups or are just bored, then Gnus is what you +want. + +This FAQ was maintained by Justin Sheehy until March 2002. He +would like to thank Steve Baur and Per Abrahamsen for doing a wonderful +job with this FAQ before him. We would like to do the same - thanks, +Justin! + +If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at: +@uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}. +This version is much nicer than the unofficial hypertext +versions that are archived at Utrecht, Oxford, Smart Pages, Ohio +State, and other FAQ archives. See the resources question below +if you want information on obtaining it in another format. + +The information contained here was compiled with the assistance +of the Gnus development mailing list, and any errors or +misprints are the my.gnus.org team's fault, sorry. + +@node FAQ 1 - Installation FAQ +@subsection Installation FAQ + +@menu +* [1.1]:: What is the latest version of Gnus? +* [1.2]:: What's new in 5.10? +* [1.3]:: Where and how to get Gnus? +* [1.4]:: What to do with the tarball now? +* [1.5]:: I sometimes read references to No Gnus and Oort Gnus, what + are those? +* [1.6]:: Which version of Emacs do I need? +* [1.7]:: How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs? +@end menu + +@node [1.1] +@subsubheading Question 1.1 + +What is the latest version of Gnus? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Jingle please: Gnus 5.10 is released, get it while it's +hot! As well as the step in version number is rather +small, Gnus 5.10 has tons of new features which you +shouldn't miss. The current release (5.10.8) should be at +least as stable as the latest release of the 5.8 series. + +@node [1.2] +@subsubheading Question 1.2 + +What's new in 5.10? + +@subsubheading Answer + +First of all, you should have a look into the file +GNUS-NEWS in the toplevel directory of the Gnus tarball, +there the most important changes are listed. Here's a +short list of the changes I find especially +important/interesting: + +@itemize @bullet + +@item +Major rewrite of the Gnus agent, Gnus agent is now +active by default. + +@item +Many new article washing functions for dealing with +ugly formatted articles. + +@item +Anti Spam features. + +@item +Message-utils now included in Gnus. + +@item +New format specifiers for summary lines, e.g. %B for +a complex trn-style thread tree. +@end itemize + +@node [1.3] +@subsubheading Question 1.3 + +Where and how to get Gnus? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Gnus is released independent from releases of Emacs and XEmacs. +Therefore, the version bundled with Emacs or the version in XEmacs' +package system might not be up to date (e.g. Gnus 5.9 bundled with Emacs +20 is outdated). +@c +You can get the latest released version of Gnus from +@uref{http://www.gnus.org/dist/gnus.tar.gz} or via anonymous FTP from +@uref{ftp://ftp.gnus.org/pub/gnus/gnus.tar.gz}. + +@node [1.4] +@subsubheading Question 1.4 + +What to do with the tarball now? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Untar it via @samp{tar xvzf gnus.tar.gz} and do the common +@samp{./configure; make; make install} circle. +(under MS-Windows either get the Cygwin environment from +@uref{http://www.cygwin.com} +which allows you to do what's described above or unpack the +tarball with some packer (e.g. Winace from +@uref{http://www.winace.com}) +and use the batch-file make.bat included in the tarball to install +Gnus.) If you don't want to (or aren't allowed to) install Gnus +system-wide, you can install it in your home directory and add the +following lines to your ~/.xemacs/init.el or ~/.emacs: + +@example +(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/gnus/lisp") +(if (featurep 'xemacs) + (add-to-list 'Info-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/") + (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/")) +@end example +@noindent + +Make sure that you don't have any Gnus related stuff +before this line, on MS Windows use something like +"C:/path/to/lisp" (yes, "/"). + +@node [1.5] +@subsubheading Question 1.5 + +I sometimes read references to No Gnus and Oort Gnus, +what are those? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Oort Gnus was the name of the development version of +Gnus, which became Gnus 5.10 in autumn 2003. No Gnus is +the name of the current development version which will +once become Gnus 5.12 or Gnus 6. (If you're wondering why +not 5.11, the odd version numbers are normally used for +the Gnus versions bundled with Emacs) + +@node [1.6] +@subsubheading Question 1.6 + +Which version of Emacs do I need? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Gnus 5.10 requires an Emacs version that is greater than or equal +to Emacs 20.7 or XEmacs 21.1. +The development versions of Gnus (aka No Gnus) requires Emacs 21 +or XEmacs 21.4. + +@node [1.7] +@subsubheading Question 1.7 + +How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can't use the same copy of Gnus in both as the Lisp +files are byte-compiled to a format which is different +depending on which Emacs did the compilation. Get one copy +of Gnus for Emacs and one for XEmacs. + +@node FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer +@subsection Startup / Group buffer + +@menu +* [2.1]:: Every time I start Gnus I get a message "Gnus auto-save + file exists. Do you want to read it?", what does this mean and + how to prevent it? +* [2.2]:: Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to, + what's this? +* [2.3]:: How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer? +* [2.4]:: My group buffer becomes a bit crowded, is there a way to + sort my groups into categories so I can easier browse through + them? +* [2.5]:: How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to + sort the groups in a topic? +@end menu + +@node [2.1] +@subsubheading Question 2.1 + +Every time I start Gnus I get a message "Gnus auto-save +file exists. Do you want to read it?", what does this mean +and how to prevent it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +This message means that the last time you used Gnus, it +wasn't properly exited and therefor couldn't write its +informations to disk (e.g. which messages you read), you +are now asked if you want to restore those informations +from the auto-save file. + +To prevent this message make sure you exit Gnus +via @samp{q} in group buffer instead of +just killing Emacs. + +@node [2.2] +@subsubheading Question 2.2 + +Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to, +what's this? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You get the message described in the q/a pair above while +starting Gnus, right? It's an other symptom for the same +problem, so read the answer above. + +@node [2.3] +@subsubheading Question 2.3 + +How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You've got to tweak the value of the variable +gnus-group-line-format. See the manual node "Group Line +Specification" for information on how to do this. An +example for this (guess from whose .gnus :-)): + +@example +(setq gnus-group-line-format "%P%M%S[%5t]%5y : %(%g%)\n") +@end example +@noindent + +@node [2.4] +@subsubheading Question 2.4 + +My group buffer becomes a bit crowded, is there a way to +sort my groups into categories so I can easier browse +through them? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Gnus offers the topic mode, it allows you to sort your +groups in, well, topics, e.g. all groups dealing with +Linux under the topic linux, all dealing with music under +the topic music and all dealing with scottish music under +the topic scottish which is a subtopic of music. + +To enter topic mode, just hit t while in Group buffer. Now +you can use @samp{T n} to create a topic +at point and @samp{T m} to move a group to +a specific topic. For more commands see the manual or the +menu. You might want to include the %P specifier at the +beginning of your gnus-group-line-format variable to have +the groups nicely indented. + +@node [2.5] +@subsubheading Question 2.5 + +How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to +sort the groups in a topic? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Move point over the group you want to move and +hit @samp{C-k}, now move point to the +place where you want the group to be and +hit @samp{C-y}. + +@node FAQ 3 - Getting Messages +@subsection Getting Messages + +@menu +* [3.1]:: I just installed Gnus, started it via @samp{M-x gnus} + but it only says "nntp (news) open error", what to do? +* [3.2]:: I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus.el + means. +* [3.3]:: My news server requires authentication, how to store user + name and password on disk? +* [3.4]:: Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to + subscribe to a group. +* [3.5]:: Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed + to post on this server as well as I am, what's that? +* [3.6]:: I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this + possible? +* [3.7]:: And how about local spool files? +* [3.8]:: OK, reading news works now, but I want to be able to read + my mail with Gnus, too. How to do it? +* [3.9]:: And what about IMAP? +* [3.10]:: At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers, can + I use Gnus to read my mail from it? +* [3.11]:: Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server it + retrieves via POP3? +@end menu + +@node [3.1] +@subsubheading Question 3.1 + +I just installed Gnus, started it via +@samp{M-x gnus} +but it only says "nntp (news) open error", what to do? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You've got to tell Gnus where to fetch the news from. Read +the documentation for information on how to do this. As a +first start, put those lines in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.yourprovider.net")) +(setq user-mail-address "you@@yourprovider.net") +(setq user-full-name "Your Name") +@end example +@noindent + +@node [3.2] +@subsubheading Question 3.2 + +I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus.el means. + +@subsubheading Answer + +The ~/ means the home directory where Gnus and Emacs look +for the configuration files. However, you don't really +need to know what this means, it suffices that Emacs knows +what it means :-) You can type +@samp{C-x C-f ~/.gnus.el RET } +(yes, with the forward slash, even on Windows), and +Emacs will open the right file for you. (It will most +likely be new, and thus empty.) +However, I'd discourage you from doing so, since the +directory Emacs chooses will most certainly not be what +you want, so let's do it the correct way. +The first thing you've got to do is to +create a suitable directory (no blanks in directory name +please) e.g. c:\myhome. Then you must set the environment +variable HOME to this directory. To do this under Win9x +or Me include the line + +@example +SET HOME=C:\myhome +@end example +@noindent + +in your autoexec.bat and reboot. Under NT, 2000 and XP, hit +Winkey+Pause/Break to enter system options (if it doesn't work, go to +Control Panel -> System -> Advanced). There you'll find the possibility +to set environment variables. Create a new one with name HOME and value +C:\myhome. Rebooting is not necessary. + +Now to create ~/.gnus.el, say +@samp{C-x C-f ~/.gnus.el RET C-x C-s}. +in Emacs. + +@node [3.3] +@subsubheading Question 3.3 + +My news server requires authentication, how to store +user name and password on disk? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Create a file ~/.authinfo which includes for each server a line like this + +@example +machine news.yourprovider.net login YourUserName password YourPassword +@end example +@noindent +. +Make sure that the file isn't readable to others if you +work on a OS which is capable of doing so. (Under Unix +say +@example +chmod 600 ~/.authinfo +@end example +@noindent + +in a shell.) + +@node [3.4] +@subsubheading Question 3.4 + +Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to +subscribe to a group. + +@subsubheading Answer + +If you know the name of the group say @samp{U +name.of.group RET} in group buffer (use the +tab-completion Luke). Otherwise hit ^ in group buffer, +this brings you to the server buffer. Now place point (the +cursor) over the server which carries the group you want, +hit @samp{RET}, move point to the group +you want to subscribe to and say @samp{u} +to subscribe to it. + +@node [3.5] +@subsubheading Question 3.5 + +Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed to +post on this server as well as I am, what's that? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Some providers allow restricted anonymous access and full +access only after authorization. To make Gnus send authinfo +to those servers append + +@example +force yes +@end example +@noindent + +to the line for those servers in ~/.authinfo. + +@node [3.6] +@subsubheading Question 3.6 + +I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this possible? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Of course. You can specify more sources for articles in the +variable gnus-secondary-select-methods. Add something like +this in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods + '(nntp "news.yourSecondProvider.net")) +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods + '(nntp "news.yourThirdProvider.net")) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [3.7] +@subsubheading Question 3.7 + +And how about local spool files? + +@subsubheading Answer + +No problem, this is just one more select method called +nnspool, so you want this: + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnspool "")) +@end example +@noindent + +Or this if you don't want an NNTP Server as primary news source: + +@example +(setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool "")) +@end example +@noindent + +Gnus will look for the spool file in /usr/spool/news, if you +want something different, change the line above to something like this: + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods + '(nnspool "" + (nnspool-directory "/usr/local/myspoolddir"))) +@end example +@noindent + +This sets the spool directory for this server only. +You might have to specify more stuff like the program used +to post articles, see the Gnus manual on how to do this. + +@node [3.8] +@subsubheading Question 3.8 + +OK, reading news works now, but I want to be able to read my mail +with Gnus, too. How to do it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +That's a bit harder since there are many possible sources +for mail, many possible ways for storing mail and many +different ways for sending mail. The most common cases are +these: 1: You want to read your mail from a pop3 server and +send them directly to a SMTP Server 2: Some program like +fetchmail retrieves your mail and stores it on disk from +where Gnus shall read it. Outgoing mail is sent by +Sendmail, Postfix or some other MTA. Sometimes, you even +need a combination of the above cases. + +However, the first thing to do is to tell Gnus in which way +it should store the mail, in Gnus terminology which back end +to use. Gnus supports many different back ends, the most +commonly used one is nnml. It stores every mail in one file +and is therefor quite fast. However you might prefer a one +file per group approach if your file system has problems with +many small files, the nnfolder back end is then probably the +choice for you. To use nnml add the following to ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnml "")) +@end example +@noindent + +As you might have guessed, if you want nnfolder, it's + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnfolder "")) +@end example +@noindent + +Now we need to tell Gnus, where to get it's mail from. If +it's a POP3 server, then you need something like this: + +@example +(eval-after-load "mail-source" + '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(pop :server "pop.YourProvider.net" + :user "yourUserName" + :password "yourPassword"))) +@end example +@noindent + +Make sure ~/.gnus.el isn't readable to others if you store +your password there. If you want to read your mail from a +traditional spool file on your local machine, it's + +@example +(eval-after-load "mail-source" + '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(file :path "/path/to/spool/file")) +@end example +@noindent + +If it's a Maildir, with one file per message as used by +postfix, Qmail and (optionally) fetchmail it's + +@example +(eval-after-load "mail-source" + '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(maildir :path "/path/to/Maildir/" + :subdirs ("cur" "new"))) +@end example +@noindent + +And finally if you want to read your mail from several files +in one directory, for example because procmail already split your +mail, it's + +@example +(eval-after-load "mail-source" + '(add-to-list 'mail-sources + '(directory :path "/path/to/procmail-dir/" + :suffix ".prcml"))) +@end example +@noindent + +Where :suffix ".prcml" tells Gnus only to use files with the +suffix .prcml. + +OK, now you only need to tell Gnus how to send mail. If you +want to send mail via sendmail (or whichever MTA is playing +the role of sendmail on your system), you don't need to do +anything. However, if you want to send your mail to an +SMTP Server you need the following in your ~/.gnus.el + +@example +(setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) +(setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) +(setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.yourProvider.net") +@end example +@noindent + +@node [3.9] +@subsubheading Question 3.9 + +And what about IMAP? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There are two ways of using IMAP with Gnus. The first one is +to use IMAP like POP3, that means Gnus fetches the mail from +the IMAP server and stores it on disk. If you want to do +this (you don't really want to do this) add the following to +~/.gnus.el + +@example +(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" + :user "username" + :pass "password" + :stream network + :authentication login + :mailbox "INBOX" + :fetchflag "\\Seen")) +@end example +@noindent + +You might have to tweak the values for stream and/or +authentication, see the Gnus manual node "Mail Source +Specifiers" for possible values. + +If you want to use IMAP the way it's intended, you've got to +follow a different approach. You've got to add the nnimap +back end to your select method and give the information +about the server there. + +@example +(add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods + '(nnimap "Give the baby a name" + (nnimap-address "imap.yourProvider.net") + (nnimap-port 143) + (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*"))) +@end example +@noindent + +Again, you might have to specify how to authenticate to the +server if Gnus can't guess the correct way, see the Manual +Node "IMAP" for detailed information. + +@node [3.10] +@subsubheading Question 3.10 + +At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers, can I use +Gnus to read my mail from it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Offer your administrator a pair of new running shoes for +activating IMAP on the server and follow the instructions +above. + +@node [3.11] +@subsubheading Question 3.11 + +Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server it +retrieves via POP3? + +@subsubheading Answer + +First of all, that's not the way POP3 is intended to work, +if you have the possibility, you should use the IMAP +Protocol if you want your messages to stay on the +server. Nevertheless there might be situations where you +need the feature, but sadly Gnus itself has no predefined +functionality to do so. + +However this is Gnus county so there are possibilities to +achieve what you want. The easiest way is to get an external +program which retrieves copies of the mail and stores them +on disk, so Gnus can read it from there. On Unix systems you +could use e.g. fetchmail for this, on MS Windows you can use +Hamster, an excellent local news and mail server. + +The other solution would be, to replace the method Gnus +uses to get mail from POP3 servers by one which is capable +of leaving the mail on the server. If you use XEmacs, get +the package mail-lib, it includes an enhanced pop3.el, +look in the file, there's documentation on how to tell +Gnus to use it and not to delete the retrieved mail. For +GNU Emacs look for the file epop3.el which can do the same +(If you know the home of this file, please send me an +e-mail). You can also tell Gnus to use an external program +(e.g. fetchmail) to fetch your mail, see the info node +"Mail Source Specifiers" in the Gnus manual on how to do +it. + +@node FAQ 4 - Reading messages +@subsection Reading messages + +@menu +* [4.1]:: When I enter a group, all read messages are gone. How to + view them again? +* [4.2]:: How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time I + enter a group, even when it's read? +* [4.3]:: How to view the headers of a message? +* [4.4]:: How to view the raw unformatted message? +* [4.5]:: How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at + the top of the article buffer? +* [4.6]:: I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the + text part if it's available. How to do it? +* [4.7]:: Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my + HTML-mails? +* [4.8]:: Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails + more readable? +* [4.9]:: Is there a way to automatically ignore posts by specific + authors or with specific words in the subject? And can I highlight + more interesting ones in some way? +* [4.10]:: How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, + or set other variables specific for some groups? +* [4.11]:: Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to + those? +* [4.12]:: The number of total messages in a group which Gnus + displays in group buffer is by far to high, especially in mail + groups. Is this a bug? +* [4.13]:: I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer, how + to change it? Perhaps even a three pane display? +* [4.14]:: I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to + tweak it? +* [4.15]:: How to split incoming mails in several groups? +@end menu + +@node [4.1] +@subsubheading Question 4.1 + +When I enter a group, all read messages are gone. How to view them again? + +@subsubheading Answer + +If you enter the group by saying +@samp{RET} +in group buffer with point over the group, only unread and ticked messages are loaded. Say +@samp{C-u RET} +instead to load all available messages. If you want only the e.g. 300 newest say +@samp{C-u 300 RET} + +Loading only unread messages can be annoying if you have threaded view enabled, say + +@example +(setq gnus-fetch-old-headers 'some) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el to load enough old articles to prevent teared threads, replace 'some with t to load +all articles (Warning: Both settings enlarge the amount of data which is +fetched when you enter a group and slow down the process of entering a group). + +If you already use Gnus 5.10, you can say +@samp{/o N} +In summary buffer to load the last N messages, this feature is not available in 5.8.8 + +If you don't want all old messages, but the parent of the message you're just reading, +you can say @samp{^}, if you want to retrieve the whole thread +the message you're just reading belongs to, @samp{A T} is your friend. + +@node [4.2] +@subsubheading Question 4.2 + +How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time I +enter a group, even when it's read? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can tick important messages. To do this hit +@samp{u} while point is in summary buffer +over the message. When you want to remove the mark, hit +either @samp{d} (this deletes the tick +mark and set's unread mark) or @samp{M c} +(which deletes all marks for the message). + +@node [4.3] +@subsubheading Question 4.3 + +How to view the headers of a message? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say @samp{t} +to show all headers, one more +@samp{t} +hides them again. + +@node [4.4] +@subsubheading Question 4.4 + +How to view the raw unformatted message? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say +@samp{C-u g} +to show the raw message +@samp{g} +returns to normal view. + +@node [4.5] +@subsubheading Question 4.5 + +How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at +the top of the article buffer? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The variable gnus-visible-headers controls which headers +are shown, its value is a regular expression, header lines +which match it are shown. So if you want author, subject, +date, and if the header exists, Followup-To and MUA / NUA +say this in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(setq gnus-visible-headers + '("^From" "^Subject" "^Date" "^Newsgroups" "^Followup-To" + "^User-Agent" "^X-Newsreader" "^X-Mailer")) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [4.6] +@subsubheading Question 4.6 + +I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the +text part if it's available. How to do it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say + +@example +(eval-after-load "mm-decode" + '(progn + (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/html") + (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/richtext"))) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. If you don't want HTML rendered, even if there's no text alternative add + +@example +(setq mm-automatic-display (remove "text/html" mm-automatic-display)) +@end example +@noindent + +too. + +@node [4.7] +@subsubheading Question 4.7 + +Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my HTML-mails? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Only if you use Gnus 5.10 or younger. In this case you've got the +choice between w3, w3m, links, lynx and html2text, which +one is used can be specified in the variable +mm-text-html-renderer, so if you want links to render your +mail say + +@example +(setq mm-text-html-renderer 'links) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [4.8] +@subsubheading Question 4.8 + +Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails +more readable? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Gnus offers you several functions to "wash" incoming mail, you can +find them if you browse through the menu, item +Article->Washing. The most interesting ones are probably "Wrap +long lines" (@samp{W w}), "Decode ROT13" +(@samp{W r}) and "Outlook Deuglify" which repairs +the dumb quoting used by many users of Microsoft products +(@samp{W Y f} gives you full deuglify. +See @samp{W Y C-h} or have a look at the menus for +other deuglifications). Outlook deuglify is only available since +Gnus 5.10. + +@node [4.9] +@subsubheading Question 4.9 + +Is there a way to automatically ignore posts by specific +authors or with specific words in the subject? And can I +highlight more interesting ones in some way? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You want Scoring. Scoring means, that you define rules +which assign each message an integer value. Depending on +the value the message is highlighted in summary buffer (if +it's high, say +2000) or automatically marked read (if the +value is low, say -800) or some other action happens. + +There are basically three ways of setting up rules which assign +the scoring-value to messages. The first and easiest way is to set +up rules based on the article you are just reading. Say you're +reading a message by a guy who always writes nonsense and you want +to ignore his messages in the future. Hit +@samp{L}, to set up a rule which lowers the score. +Now Gnus asks you which the criteria for lowering the Score shall +be. Hit @samp{?} twice to see all possibilities, +we want @samp{a} which means the author (the from +header). Now Gnus wants to know which kind of matching we want. +Hit either @samp{e} for an exact match or +@samp{s} for substring-match and delete afterwards +everything but the name to score down all authors with the given +name no matter which email address is used. Now you need to tell +Gnus when to apply the rule and how long it should last, hit e.g. +@samp{p} to apply the rule now and let it last +forever. If you want to raise the score instead of lowering it say +@samp{I} instead of @samp{L}. + +You can also set up rules by hand. To do this say @samp{V +f} in summary buffer. Then you are asked for the name +of the score file, it's name.of.group.SCORE for rules valid in +only one group or all.Score for rules valid in all groups. See the +Gnus manual for the exact syntax, basically it's one big list +whose elements are lists again. the first element of those lists +is the header to score on, then one more list with what to match, +which score to assign, when to expire the rule and how to do the +matching. If you find me very interesting, you could e.g. add the +following to your all.Score: + +@example +(("references" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 500 nil s)) + ("message-id" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 999 nil s))) +@end example +@noindent + +This would add 999 to the score of messages written by me +and 500 to the score of messages which are a (possibly +indirect) answer to a message written by me. Of course +nobody with a sane mind would do this :-) + +The third alternative is adaptive scoring. This means Gnus +watches you and tries to find out what you find +interesting and what annoying and sets up rules +which reflect this. Adaptive scoring can be a huge help +when reading high traffic groups. If you want to activate +adaptive scoring say + +@example +(setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring t) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. + +@node [4.10] +@subsubheading Question 4.10 + +How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or +set other variables specific for some groups? + +@subsubheading Answer + +While in group buffer move point over the group and hit +@samp{G c}, this opens a buffer where you +can set options for the group. At the bottom of the buffer +you'll find an item that allows you to set variables +locally for the group. To disable threading enter +gnus-show-threads as name of variable and nil as +value. Hit button done at the top of the buffer when +you're ready. + +@node [4.11] +@subsubheading Question 4.11 + +Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to +those? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Stop those "Can I ..." questions, the answer is always yes +in Gnus Country :-). It's a three step process: First we +make faces (specifications of how summary-line shall look +like) for those postings, then we'll give them some +special score and finally we'll tell Gnus to use the new +faces. You can find detailed instructions on how to do it on +@uref{http://my.gnus.org/node/view/224, my.gnus.org} + +@node [4.12] +@subsubheading Question 4.12 + +The number of total messages in a group which Gnus +displays in group buffer is by far to high, especially in +mail groups. Is this a bug? + +@subsubheading Answer + +No, that's a matter of design of Gnus, fixing this would +mean reimplementation of major parts of Gnus' +back ends. Gnus thinks "highest-article-number - +lowest-article-number = total-number-of-articles". This +works OK for Usenet groups, but if you delete and move +many messages in mail groups, this fails. To cure the +symptom, enter the group via @samp{C-u RET} +(this makes Gnus get all messages), then +hit @samp{M P b} to mark all messages and +then say @samp{B m name.of.group} to move +all messages to the group they have been in before, they +get new message numbers in this process and the count is +right again (until you delete and move your mail to other +groups again). + +@node [4.13] +@subsubheading Question 4.13 + +I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer, how +to change it? Perhaps even a three pane display? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can control the windows configuration by calling the +function gnus-add-configuration. The syntax is a bit +complicated but explained very well in the manual node +"Window Layout". Some popular examples: + +Instead 25% summary 75% article buffer 35% summary and 65% +article (the 1.0 for article means "take the remaining +space"): + +@example +(gnus-add-configuration + '(article (vertical 1.0 (summary .35 point) (article 1.0)))) +@end example +@noindent + +A three pane layout, Group buffer on the left, summary +buffer top-right, article buffer bottom-right: + +@example +(gnus-add-configuration + '(article + (horizontal 1.0 + (vertical 25 + (group 1.0)) + (vertical 1.0 + (summary 0.25 point) + (article 1.0))))) +(gnus-add-configuration + '(summary + (horizontal 1.0 + (vertical 25 + (group 1.0)) + (vertical 1.0 + (summary 1.0 point))))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [4.14] +@subsubheading Question 4.14 + +I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to tweak it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You've got to play around with the variable +gnus-summary-line-format. It's value is a string of +symbols which stand for things like author, date, subject +etc. A list of the available specifiers can be found in the +manual node "Summary Buffer Lines" and the often forgotten +node "Formatting Variables" and it's sub-nodes. There +you'll find useful things like positioning the cursor and +tabulators which allow you a summary in table form, but +sadly hard tabulators are broken in 5.8.8. + +Since 5.10, Gnus offers you some very nice new specifiers, +e.g. %B which draws a thread-tree and %&user-date which +gives you a date where the details are dependent of the +articles age. Here's an example which uses both: + +@example +(setq gnus-summary-line-format ":%U%R %B %s %-60=|%4L |%-20,20f |%&user-date; \n") +@end example +@noindent + +resulting in: + +@example +:O Re: [Richard Stallman] rfc2047.el | 13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:06 +:O Re: Revival of the ding-patches list | 13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:12 +:R > Re: Find correct list of articles for a gro| 25 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:16 +:O \-> ... | 21 |Kai Grossjohann | 0:01 +:R > Re: Cry for help: deuglify.el - moving stuf| 28 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:34 +:O \-> ... | 115 |Raymond Scholz | 1:24 +:O \-> ... | 19 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |15:33 +:O Slow mailing list | 13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:49 +:O Re: `@@' mark not documented | 13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:50 +:R > Re: Gnus still doesn't count messages prope| 23 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:57 +:O \-> ... | 18 |Kai Grossjohann | 0:35 +:O \-> ... | 13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt | 0:56 +@end example +@noindent + +@node [4.15] +@subsubheading Question 4.15 + +How to split incoming mails in several groups? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Gnus offers two possibilities for splitting mail, the easy +nnmail-split-methods and the more powerful Fancy Mail +Splitting. I'll only talk about the first one, refer to +the manual, node "Fancy Mail Splitting" for the latter. + +The value of nnmail-split-methods is a list, each element +is a list which stands for a splitting rule. Each rule has +the form "group where matching articles should go to", +"regular expression which has to be matched", the first +rule which matches wins. The last rule must always be a +general rule (regular expression .*) which denotes where +articles should go which don't match any other rule. If +the folder doesn't exist yet, it will be created as soon +as an article lands there. By default the mail will be +send to all groups whose rules match. If you +don't want that (you probably don't want), say + +@example +(setq nnmail-crosspost nil) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. + +An example might be better than thousand words, so here's +my nnmail-split-methods. Note that I send duplicates in a +special group and that the default group is spam, since I +filter all mails out which are from some list I'm +subscribed to or which are addressed directly to me +before. Those rules kill about 80% of the Spam which +reaches me (Email addresses are changed to prevent spammers +from using them): + +@example +(setq nnmail-split-methods + '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate") + ("XEmacs-NT" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@xemacs.invalid.*") + ("Gnus-Tut" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@socha.invalid.*") + ("tcsh" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@mx.gw.invalid.*") + ("BAfH" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@.*uni-muenchen.invalid.*") + ("Hamster-src" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*hamster-sourcen@@yahoogroups.\\(de\\|com\\).*") + ("Tagesschau" "^From: tagesschau <localpart@@www.tagesschau.invalid>$") + ("Replies" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@Frank-Schmitt.invalid.*") + ("EK" "^From:.*\\(localpart@@privateprovider.invalid\\|localpart@@workplace.invalid\\).*") + ("Spam" "^Content-Type:.*\\(ks_c_5601-1987\\|EUC-KR\\|big5\\|iso-2022-jp\\).*") + ("Spam" "^Subject:.*\\(This really work\\|XINGA\\|ADV:\\|XXX\\|adult\\|sex\\).*") + ("Spam" "^Subject:.*\\(\=\?ks_c_5601-1987\?\\|\=\?euc-kr\?\\|\=\?big5\?\\).*") + ("Spam" "^X-Mailer:\\(.*BulkMailer.*\\|.*MIME::Lite.*\\|\\)") + ("Spam" "^X-Mailer:\\(.*CyberCreek Avalanche\\|.*http\:\/\/GetResponse\.com\\)") + ("Spam" "^From:.*\\(verizon\.net\\|prontomail\.com\\|money\\|ConsumerDirect\\).*") + ("Spam" "^Delivered-To: GMX delivery to spamtrap@@gmx.invalid$") + ("Spam" "^Received: from link2buy.com") + ("Spam" "^CC: .*azzrael@@t-online.invalid") + ("Spam" "^X-Mailer-Version: 1.50 BETA") + ("Uni" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@uni-koblenz.invalid.*") + ("Inbox" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*\\(my\ name\\|address@@one.invalid\\|adress@@two.invalid\\)") + ("Spam" ""))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node FAQ 5 - Composing messages +@subsection Composing messages + +@menu +* [5.1]:: What are the basic commands I need to know for sending + mail and postings? +* [5.2]:: How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages? +* [5.3]:: How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To, + signature...? +* [5.4]:: Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on + the group I post too? +* [5.5]:: Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly + spell-checking? +* [5.6]:: Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting + to? +* [5.7]:: Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember + all those email addresses? +* [5.8]:: Sometimes I see little images at the top of article + buffer. What's that and how can I send one with my postings, too? +* [5.9]:: Sometimes I accidentally hit r instead of f in newsgroups. + Can Gnus warn me, when I'm replying by mail in newsgroups? +* [5.10]:: How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header? +* [5.11]:: I want Gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and + news, how to do it? +* [5.12]:: People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct, why aren't + they and how to fix it? +@end menu + +@node [5.1] +@subsubheading Question 5.1 + +What are the basic commands I need to know for sending mail and postings? + +@subsubheading Answer + +To start composing a new mail hit @samp{m} +either in Group or Summary buffer, for a posting, it's +either @samp{a} in Group buffer and +filling the Newsgroups header manually +or @samp{a} in the Summary buffer of the +group where the posting shall be send to. Replying by mail +is +@samp{r} if you don't want to cite the +author, or import the cited text manually and +@samp{R} to cite the text of the original +message. For a follow up to a newsgroup, it's +@samp{f} and @samp{F} +(analogously to @samp{r} and +@samp{R}). + +Enter new headers above the line saying "--text follows +this line--", enter the text below the line. When ready +hit @samp{C-c C-c}, to send the message, +if you want to finish it later hit @samp{C-c +C-d} to save it in the drafts group, where you +can start editing it again by saying @samp{D +e}. + +@node [5.2] +@subsubheading Question 5.2 + +How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say + +@example +(add-hook 'message-mode-hook + (lambda () + (setq fill-column 72) + (turn-on-auto-fill))) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. You can reformat a paragraph by hitting +@samp{M-q} (as usual) + +@node [5.3] +@subsubheading Question 5.3 + +How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To, signature...? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There are other ways, but you should use posting styles +for this. (See below why). +This example should make the syntax clear: + +@example +(setq gnus-posting-styles + '((".*" + (name "Frank Schmitt") + (address "me@@there.invalid") + (organization "Hamme net, kren mer och nimmi") + (signature-file "~/.signature") + ("X-SampleHeader" "foobar") + (eval (setq some-variable "Foo bar"))))) +@end example +@noindent + +The ".*" means that this settings are the default ones +(see below), valid values for the first element of the +following lists are signature, signature-file, +organization, address, name or body. The attribute name +can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as +a header name, and the value will be inserted in the +headers of the article; if the value is `nil', the header +name will be removed. You can also say (eval (foo bar)), +then the function foo will be evaluated with argument bar +and the result will be thrown away. + +@node [5.4] +@subsubheading Question 5.4 + +Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on the group I post too? + +@subsubheading Answer + +That's the strength of posting styles. Before, we used ".*" +to set the default for all groups. You can use a regexp +like "^gmane" and the following settings are only applied +to postings you send to the gmane hierarchy, use +".*binaries" instead and they will be applied to postings +send to groups containing the string binaries in their +name etc. + +You can instead of specifying a regexp specify a function +which is evaluated, only if it returns true, the +corresponding settings take effect. Two interesting +candidates for this are message-news-p which returns t if +the current Group is a newsgroup and the corresponding +message-mail-p. + +Note that all forms that match are applied, that means in +the example below, when I post to +gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general, the settings under +".*" are applied and the settings under message-news-p and +those under "^gmane" and those under +"^gmane\\.mail\\.spam\\.spamassassin\\.general$". Because +of this put general settings at the top and specific ones +at the bottom. + +@example +(setq gnus-posting-styles + '((".*" ;;default + (name "Frank Schmitt") + (organization "Hamme net, kren mer och nimmi") + (signature-file "~/.signature")) + ((message-news-p) ;;Usenet news? + (address "mySpamTrap@@Frank-Schmitt.invalid") + (reply-to "hereRealRepliesOnlyPlease@@Frank-Schmitt.invalid")) + ((message-mail-p) ;;mail? + (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.invalid")) + ("^gmane" ;;this is mail, too in fact + (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.invalid") + (reply-to nil)) + ("^gmane\\.mail\\.spam\\.spamassassin\\.general$" + (eval (set (make-local-variable 'message-sendmail-envelope-from) + "Azzrael@@rz-online.de"))))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [5.5] +@subsubheading Question 5.5 + +Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly spell-checking? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can use ispell.el to spell-check stuff in Emacs. So the +first thing to do is to make sure that you've got either +@uref{http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/fmg-members/geoff/ispell.html, ispell} +or @uref{http://aspell.sourceforge.net/, aspell} +installed and in your Path. Then you need +@uref{http://www.kdstevens.com/~stevens/ispell-page.html, ispell.el} +and for on-the-fly spell-checking +@uref{http://www-sop.inria.fr/mimosa/personnel/Manuel.Serrano/flyspell/flyspell.html, flyspell.el}. +Ispell.el is shipped with Emacs and available through the XEmacs package system, +flyspell.el is shipped with Emacs and part of XEmacs text-modes package which is +available through the package system, so there should be no need to install them +manually. + +Ispell.el assumes you use ispell, if you choose aspell say + +@example +(setq ispell-program-name "aspell") +@end example +@noindent + +in your Emacs configuration file. + +If you want your outgoing messages to be spell-checked, say + +@example +(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message) +@end example +@noindent + +In your ~/.gnus.el, if you prefer on-the-fly spell-checking say + +@example +(add-hook 'message-mode-hook (lambda () (flyspell-mode 1))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [5.6] +@subsubheading Question 5.6 + +Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting to? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Yes, say something like + +@example +(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook + (lambda () + (cond + ((string-match + "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name)) + (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch8")) + (t + (ispell-change-dictionary "english"))))) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. Change "^de\\." and "deutsch8" to something +that suits your needs. + +@node [5.7] +@subsubheading Question 5.7 + +Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember +all those email addresses? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There's an very basic solution for this, mail aliases. +You can store your mail addresses in a ~/.mailrc file using a simple +alias syntax: + +@example +alias al "Al <al@@english-heritage.invalid>" +@end example +@noindent + +Then typing your alias (followed by a space or punctuation +character) on a To: or Cc: line in the message buffer will +cause Gnus to insert the full address for you. See the +node "Mail Aliases" in Message (not Gnus) manual for +details. + +However, what you really want is the Insidious Big Brother +Database bbdb. Get it through the XEmacs package system or from +@uref{http://bbdb.sourceforge.net/, bbdb's homepage}. +Now place the following in ~/.gnus.el, to activate bbdb for Gnus: + +@example +(require 'bbdb) +(bbdb-initialize 'gnus 'message) +@end example +@noindent + +Now you probably want some general bbdb configuration, +place them in ~/.emacs: + +@example +(require 'bbdb) +;;If you don't live in Northern America, you should disable the +;;syntax check for telephone numbers by saying +(setq bbdb-north-american-phone-numbers-p nil) +;;Tell bbdb about your email address: +(setq bbdb-user-mail-names + (regexp-opt '("Your.Email@@here.invalid" + "Your.other@@mail.there.invalid"))) +;;cycling while completing email addresses +(setq bbdb-complete-name-allow-cycling t) +;;No popup-buffers +(setq bbdb-use-pop-up nil) +@end example +@noindent + +Now you should be ready to go. Say @samp{M-x bbdb RET +RET} to open a bbdb buffer showing all +entries. Say @samp{c} to create a new +entry, @samp{b} to search your BBDB and +@samp{C-o} to add a new field to an +entry. If you want to add a sender to the BBDB you can +also just hit `:' on the posting in the summary buffer and +you are done. When you now compose a new mail, +hit @samp{TAB} to cycle through know +recipients. + +@node [5.8] +@subsubheading Question 5.8 + +Sometimes I see little images at the top of article +buffer. What's that and how can I send one with my +postings, too? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Those images are called X-Faces. They are 48*48 pixel b/w +pictures, encoded in a header line. If you want to include +one in your posts, you've got to convert some image to a +X-Face. So fire up some image manipulation program (say +Gimp), open the image you want to include, cut out the +relevant part, reduce color depth to 1 bit, resize to +48*48 and save as bitmap. Now you should get the compface +package from +@uref{ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/, this site}. +and create the actual X-face by saying + +@example +cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | compface > file.face +cat file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g;s/\"/\\\"/g;' > file.face.quoted +@end example +@noindent + +If you can't use compface, there's an online X-face converter at +@uref{http://www.dairiki.org/xface/}. +If you use MS Windows, you could also use the WinFace program from +@uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~walterln/winface/}. +Now you only have to tell Gnus to include the X-face in your postings by saying + +@example +(setq message-default-headers + (with-temp-buffer + (insert "X-Face: ") + (insert-file-contents "~/.xface") + (buffer-string))) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. If you use Gnus 5.10, you can simply add an entry + +@example +(x-face-file "~/.xface") +@end example +@noindent + +to gnus-posting-styles. + +@node [5.9] +@subsubheading Question 5.9 + +Sometimes I accidentally hit r instead of f in +newsgroups. Can Gnus warn me, when I'm replying by mail in +newsgroups? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Put this in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(setq gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news t) +@end example +@noindent + +if you already use Gnus 5.10, if you still use 5.8.8 or +5.9 try this instead: + +@example +(eval-after-load "gnus-msg" + '(unless (boundp 'gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news) + (defadvice gnus-summary-reply (around reply-in-news activate) + "Request confirmation when replying to news." + (interactive) + (when (or (not (gnus-news-group-p gnus-newsgroup-name)) + (y-or-n-p "Really reply by mail to article author? ")) + ad-do-it)))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [5.10] +@subsubheading Question 5.10 + +How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Since 5.10 Gnus doesn't generate a sender header by +default. For older Gnus' try this in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(eval-after-load "message" + '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [5.11] +@subsubheading Question 5.11 + +I want Gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and +news, how to do it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You must set the variable gnus-message-archive-group to do +this. You can set it to a string giving the name of the +group where the copies shall go or like in the example +below use a function which is evaluated and which returns +the group to use. + +@example +(setq gnus-message-archive-group + '((if (message-news-p) + "nnml:Send-News" + "nnml:Send-Mail"))) +@end example +@noindent + +@node [5.12] +@subsubheading Question 5.12 + +People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct, why +aren't they and how to fix it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The message-ID is an unique identifier for messages you +send. To make it unique, Gnus need to know which machine +name to put after the "@@". If the name of the machine +where Gnus is running isn't suitable (it probably isn't +at most private machines) you can tell Gnus what to use +by saying: + +@example +(setq message-user-fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld") +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el. If you use Gnus 5.9 or earlier, you can use this +instead (works for newer versions a well): + +@example +(eval-after-load "message" + '(let ((fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld"));; <-- Edit this! + (if (boundp 'message-user-fqdn) + (setq message-user-fqdn fqdn) + (gnus-message 1 "Redefining `message-make-fqdn'.") + (defun message-make-fqdn () + "Return user's fully qualified domain name." + fqdn)))) +@end example +@noindent + +If you have no idea what to insert for +"yourmachine.yourdomain.tld", you've got several +choices. You can either ask your provider if he allows +you to use something like +yourUserName.userfqdn.provider.net, or you can use +somethingUnique.yourdomain.tld if you own the domain +yourdomain.tld, or you can register at a service which +gives private users a FQDN for free, e.g. +@uref{http://www.stura.tu-freiberg.de/~dlx/addfqdn.html}. +(Sorry but this website is in German, if you know of an +English one offering the same, drop me a note). + +Finally you can tell Gnus not to generate a Message-ID +for News at all (and letting the server do the job) by saying + +@example +(setq message-required-news-headers + (remove' Message-ID message-required-news-headers)) +@end example +@noindent + +you can also tell Gnus not to generate Message-IDs for mail by saying + +@example +(setq message-required-mail-headers + (remove' Message-ID message-required-mail-headers)) +@end example +@noindent + +, however some mail servers don't generate proper +Message-IDs, too, so test if your Mail Server behaves +correctly by sending yourself a Mail and looking at the Message-ID. + +@node FAQ 6 - Old messages +@subsection Old messages + +@menu +* [6.1]:: How to import my old mail into Gnus? +* [6.2]:: How to archive interesting messages? +* [6.3]:: How to search for a specific message? +* [6.4]:: How to get rid of old unwanted mail? +* [6.5]:: I want that all read messages are expired (at least in some + groups). How to do it? +* [6.6]:: I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them + to another group. +@end menu + +@node [6.1] +@subsubheading Question 6.1 + +How to import my old mail into Gnus? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The easiest way is to tell your old mail program to +export the messages in mbox format. Most Unix mailers +are able to do this, if you come from the MS Windows +world, you may find tools at +@uref{http://mbx2mbox.sourceforge.net/}. + +Now you've got to import this mbox file into Gnus. To do +this, create a nndoc group based on the mbox file by +saying @samp{G f /path/file.mbox RET} in +Group buffer. You now have read-only access to your +mail. If you want to import the messages to your normal +Gnus mail groups hierarchy, enter the nndoc group you've +just created by saying @samp{C-u RET} +(thus making sure all messages are retrieved), mark all +messages by saying @samp{M P b} and +either copy them to the desired group by saying +@samp{B c name.of.group RET} or send them +through nnmail-split-methods (respool them) by saying +@samp{B r}. + +@node [6.2] +@subsubheading Question 6.2 + +How to archive interesting messages? + +@subsubheading Answer + +If you stumble across an interesting message, say in +gnu.emacs.gnus and want to archive it there are several +solutions. The first and easiest is to save it to a file +by saying @samp{O f}. However, wouldn't +it be much more convenient to have more direct access to +the archived message from Gnus? If you say yes, put this +snippet by Frank Haun <pille3003@@fhaun.de> in +~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(defun my-archive-article (&optional n) + "Copies one or more article(s) to a corresponding `nnml:' group, e.g. +`gnus.ding' goes to `nnml:1.gnus.ding'. And `nnml:List-gnus.ding' goes +to `nnml:1.List-gnus-ding'. + +Use process marks or mark a region in the summary buffer to archive +more then one article." + (interactive "P") + (let ((archive-name + (format + "nnml:1.%s" + (if (featurep 'xemacs) + (replace-in-string gnus-newsgroup-name "^.*:" "") + (replace-regexp-in-string "^.*:" "" gnus-newsgroup-name))))) + (gnus-summary-copy-article n archive-name))) +@end example +@noindent + +You can now say @samp{M-x +my-archive-article} in summary buffer to +archive the article under the cursor in a nnml +group. (Change nnml to your preferred back end) + +Of course you can also make sure the cache is enabled by saying + +@example +(setq gnus-use-cache t) +@end example +@noindent + +then you only have to set either the tick or the dormant +mark for articles you want to keep, setting the read +mark will remove them from cache. + +@node [6.3] +@subsubheading Question 6.3 + +How to search for a specific message? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There are several ways for this, too. For a posting from +a Usenet group the easiest solution is probably to ask +@uref{http://groups.google.com, groups.google.com}, +if you found the posting there, tell Google to display +the raw message, look for the message-id, and say +@samp{M-^ the@@message.id RET} in a +summary buffer. +Since Gnus 5.10 there's also a Gnus interface for +groups.google.com which you can call with +@samp{G W}) in group buffer. + +Another idea which works for both mail and news groups +is to enter the group where the message you are +searching is and use the standard Emacs search +@samp{C-s}, it's smart enough to look at +articles in collapsed threads, too. If you want to +search bodies, too try @samp{M-s} +instead. Further on there are the +gnus-summary-limit-to-foo functions, which can help you, +too. + +Of course you can also use grep to search through your +local mail, but this is both slow for big archives and +inconvenient since you are not displaying the found mail +in Gnus. Here comes nnir into action. Nnir is a front end +to search engines like swish-e or swish++ and +others. You index your mail with one of those search +engines and with the help of nnir you can search trough +the indexed mail and generate a temporary group with all +messages which met your search criteria. If this sound +cool to you get nnir.el from +@uref{ftp://ls6-ftp.cs.uni-dortmund.de/pub/src/emacs/} +or @uref{ftp://ftp.is.informatik.uni-duisburg.de/pub/src/emacs/}. +Instructions on how to use it are at the top of the file. + +@node [6.4] +@subsubheading Question 6.4 + +How to get rid of old unwanted mail? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can of course just mark the mail you don't need +anymore by saying @samp{#} with point +over the mail and then say @samp{B DEL} +to get rid of them forever. You could also instead of +actually deleting them, send them to a junk-group by +saying @samp{B m nnml:trash-bin} which +you clear from time to time, but both are not the intended +way in Gnus. + +In Gnus, we let mail expire like news expires on a news +server. That means you tell Gnus the message is +expirable (you tell Gnus "I don't need this mail +anymore") by saying @samp{E} with point +over the mail in summary buffer. Now when you leave the +group, Gnus looks at all messages which you marked as +expirable before and if they are old enough (default is +older than a week) they are deleted. + +@node [6.5] +@subsubheading Question 6.5 + +I want that all read messages are expired (at least in +some groups). How to do it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +If you want all read messages to be expired (e.g. in +mailing lists where there's an online archive), you've +got two choices: auto-expire and +total-expire. Auto-expire means, that every article +which has no marks set and is selected for reading is +marked as expirable, Gnus hits @samp{E} +for you every time you read a message. Total-expire +follows a slightly different approach, here all article +where the read mark is set are expirable. + +To activate auto-expire, include auto-expire in the +Group parameters for the group. (Hit @samp{G +c} in summary buffer with point over the +group to change group parameters). For total-expire add +total-expire to the group-parameters. + +Which method you choose is merely a matter of taste: +Auto-expire is faster, but it doesn't play together with +Adaptive Scoring, so if you want to use this feature, +you should use total-expire. + +If you want a message to be excluded from expiration in +a group where total or auto expire is active, set either +tick (hit @samp{u}) or dormant mark (hit +@samp{u}), when you use auto-expire, you +can also set the read mark (hit +@samp{d}). + +@node [6.6] +@subsubheading Question 6.6 + +I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them +to another group. + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say something like this in ~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired") +@end example +@noindent + +(If you want to change the value of nnmail-expiry-target +on a per group basis see the question "How can I disable +threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or set other +variables specific for some groups?") + +@node FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment +@subsection Gnus in a dial-up environment + +@menu +* [7.1]:: I don't have a permanent connection to the net, how can I + minimize the time I've got to be connected? +* [7.2]:: So what was this thing about the Agent? +* [7.3]:: I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it? +* [7.4]:: How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings while + I'm offline? +@end menu + +@node [7.1] +@subsubheading Question 7.1 + +I don't have a permanent connection to the net, how can +I minimize the time I've got to be connected? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You've got basically two options: Either you use the +Gnus Agent (see below) for this, or you can install +programs which fetch your news and mail to your local +disk and Gnus reads the stuff from your local +machine. + +If you want to follow the second approach, you need a +program which fetches news and offers them to Gnus, a +program which does the same for mail and a program which +receives the mail you write from Gnus and sends them +when you're online. + +Let's talk about Unix systems first: For the news part, +the easiest solution is a small nntp server like +@uref{http://www.leafnode.org/, Leafnode} or +@uref{http://infa.abo.fi/~patrik/sn/, sn}, +of course you can also install a full featured news +server like +@uref{http://www.isc.org/products/INN/, inn}. +Then you want to fetch your Mail, popular choices +are @uref{http://www.catb.org/~esr/fetchmail/, fetchmail} +and @uref{http://www.qcc.ca/~charlesc/software/getmail-3.0/, getmail}. +You should tell those to write the mail to your disk and +Gnus to read it from there. Last but not least the mail +sending part: This can be done with every MTA like +@uref{http://www.sendmail.org/, sendmail}, +@uref{http://www.qmail.org/, postfix}, +@uref{http://www.exim.org/, exim} or +@uref{http://www.qmail.org/, qmail}. + +On windows boxes I'd vote for +@uref{http://www.tglsoft.de/, Hamster}, +it's a small freeware, open-source program which fetches +your mail and news from remote servers and offers them +to Gnus (or any other mail and/or news reader) via nntp +respectively POP3 or IMAP. It also includes a smtp +server for receiving mails from Gnus. + +@node [7.2] +@subsubheading Question 7.2 + +So what was this thing about the Agent? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The Gnus agent is part of Gnus, it allows you to fetch +mail and news and store them on disk for reading them +later when you're offline. It kind of mimics offline +newsreaders like e.g. Forte Agent. If you want to use +the Agent place the following in ~/.gnus.el if you are +still using 5.8.8 or 5.9 (it's the default since 5.10): + +@example +(setq gnus-agent t) +@end example +@noindent + +Now you've got to select the servers whose groups can be +stored locally. To do this, open the server buffer +(that is press @samp{^} while in the +group buffer). Now select a server by moving point to +the line naming that server. Finally, agentize the +server by typing @samp{J a}. If you +make a mistake, or change your mind, you can undo this +action by typing @samp{J r}. When +you're done, type 'q' to return to the group buffer. +Now the next time you enter a group on a agentized +server, the headers will be stored on disk and read from +there the next time you enter the group. + +@node [7.3] +@subsubheading Question 7.3 + +I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +You can tell the agent to automatically fetch the bodies +of articles which fulfill certain predicates, this is +done in a special buffer which can be reached by +saying @samp{J c} in group +buffer. Please refer to the documentation for +information which predicates are possible and how +exactly to do it. + +Further on you can tell the agent manually which +articles to store on disk. There are two ways to do +this: Number one: In the summary buffer, process mark a +set of articles that shall be stored in the agent by +saying @samp{#} with point over the +article and then type @samp{J s}. The +other possibility is to set, again in the summary +buffer, downloadable (%) marks for the articles you +want by typing @samp{@@} with point over +the article and then typing @samp{J u}. +What's the difference? Well, process marks are erased as +soon as you exit the summary buffer while downloadable +marks are permanent. You can actually set downloadable +marks in several groups then use fetch session ('J s' in +the GROUP buffer) to fetch all of those articles. The +only downside is that fetch session also fetches all of +the headers for every selected group on an agentized +server. Depending on the volume of headers, the initial +fetch session could take hours. + +@node [7.4] +@subsubheading Question 7.4 + +How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings +while I'm offline? + +@subsubheading Answer + +All you've got to do is to tell Gnus when you are online +(plugged) and when you are offline (unplugged), the rest +works automatically. You can toggle plugged/unplugged +state by saying @samp{J j} in group +buffer. To start Gnus unplugged say @samp{M-x +gnus-unplugged} instead of +@samp{M-x gnus}. Note that for this to +work, the agent must be active. + +@node FAQ 8 - Getting help +@subsection Getting help + +@menu +* [8.1]:: How to find information and help inside Emacs? +* [8.2]:: I can't find anything in the Gnus manual about X (e.g. + attachments, PGP, MIME...), is it not documented? +* [8.3]:: Which websites should I know? +* [8.4]:: Which mailing lists and newsgroups are there? +* [8.5]:: Where to report bugs? +* [8.6]:: I need real-time help, where to find it? +@end menu + +@node [8.1] +@subsubheading Question 8.1 + +How to find information and help inside Emacs? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The first stop should be the Gnus manual (Say +@samp{C-h i d m Gnus RET} to start the +Gnus manual, then walk through the menus or do a +full-text search with @samp{s}). Then +there are the general Emacs help commands starting with +C-h, type @samp{C-h ? ?} to get a list +of all available help commands and their meaning. Finally +@samp{M-x apropos-command} lets you +search through all available functions and @samp{M-x +apropos} searches the bound variables. + +@node [8.2] +@subsubheading Question 8.2 + +I can't find anything in the Gnus manual about X +(e.g. attachments, PGP, MIME...), is it not documented? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There's not only the Gnus manual but also the manuals +for message, emacs-mime, sieve and pgg. Those packages +are distributed with Gnus and used by Gnus but aren't +really part of core Gnus, so they are documented in +different info files, you should have a look in those +manuals, too. + +@node [8.3] +@subsubheading Question 8.3 + +Which websites should I know? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The two most important ones are the +@uref{http://www.gnus.org, official Gnus website}. +and it's sister site +@uref{http://my.gnus.org, my.gnus.org (MGO)}, +hosting an archive of lisp snippets, howtos, a (not +really finished) tutorial and this FAQ. + +Tell me about other sites which are interesting. + +@node [8.4] +@subsubheading Question 8.4 + +Which mailing lists and newsgroups are there? + +@subsubheading Answer + +There's the newsgroup gnu.emacs.gnus +(also available as +@uref{http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.gnus.user, +gmane.emacs.gnus.user}) +which deals with general Gnus questions. +The ding mailing list (ding@@gnus.org) deals with development of +Gnus. You can read the ding list via NNTP, too under the name +@uref{http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.gnus.general, +gmane.emacs.gnus.general} from news.gmane.org. + +If you want to stay in the big8, +news.software.newssreaders is also read by some Gnus +users (but chances for qualified help are much better in +the above groups) and if you speak German, there's +de.comm.software.gnus. + +@node [8.5] +@subsubheading Question 8.5 + +Where to report bugs? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Say @samp{M-x gnus-bug}, this will start +a message to the +@email{bugs@@gnus.org, gnus bug mailing list} +including information about your environment which make +it easier to help you. + +@node [8.6] +@subsubheading Question 8.6 + +I need real-time help, where to find it? + +@subsubheading Answer + +Point your IRC client to irc.freenode.net, channel #gnus. + +@node FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus +@subsection Tuning Gnus + +@menu +* [9.1]:: Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up? +* [9.2]:: How to speed up the process of entering a group? +* [9.3]:: Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up? +@end menu + +@node [9.1] +@subsubheading Question 9.1 + +Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The reason for this could be the way Gnus reads it's +active file, see the node "The Active File" in the Gnus +manual for things you might try to speed the process up. +An other idea would be to byte compile your ~/.gnus.el (say +@samp{M-x byte-compile-file RET ~/.gnus.el +RET} to do it). Finally, if you have require +statements in your .gnus, you could replace them with +eval-after-load, which loads the stuff not at startup +time, but when it's needed. Say you've got this in your +~/.gnus.el: + +@example +(require 'message) +(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled)) +@end example +@noindent + +then as soon as you start Gnus, message.el is loaded. If +you replace it with + +@example +(eval-after-load "message" + '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled))) +@end example +@noindent + +it's loaded when it's needed. + +@node [9.2] +@subsubheading Question 9.2 + +How to speed up the process of entering a group? + +@subsubheading Answer + +A speed killer is setting the variable +gnus-fetch-old-headers to anything different from nil, +so don't do this if speed is an issue. To speed up +building of summary say + +@example +(gnus-compile) +@end example +@noindent + +at the bottom of your ~/.gnus.el, this will make gnus +byte-compile things like +gnus-summary-line-format. +then you could increase the value of gc-cons-threshold +by saying something like + +@example +(setq gc-cons-threshold 3500000) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.emacs. If you don't care about width of CJK +characters or use Gnus 5.10 or younger together with a +recent GNU Emacs, you should say + +@example +(setq gnus-use-correct-string-widths nil) +@end example +@noindent + +in ~/.gnus.el (thanks to Jesper harder for the last +two suggestions). Finally if you are still using 5.8.8 +or 5.9 and experience speed problems with summary +buffer generation, you definitely should update to +5.10 since there quite some work on improving it has +been done. + +@node [9.3] +@subsubheading Question 9.3 + +Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up? + +@subsubheading Answer + +The reason could be that you told Gnus to archive the +messages you wrote by setting +gnus-message-archive-group. Try to use a nnml group +instead of an archive group, this should bring you back +to normal speed. + +@node FAQ - Glossary +@subsection Glossary + +@table @dfn + +@item ~/.gnus.el +When the term ~/.gnus.el is used it just means your Gnus +configuration file. You might as well call it ~/.gnus or +specify another name. + +@item Back End +In Gnus terminology a back end is a virtual server, a layer +between core Gnus and the real NNTP-, POP3-, IMAP- or +whatever-server which offers Gnus a standardized interface +to functions like "get message", "get Headers" etc. + +@item Emacs +When the term Emacs is used in this FAQ, it means either GNU +Emacs or XEmacs. + +@item Message +In this FAQ message means a either a mail or a posting to a +Usenet Newsgroup or to some other fancy back end, no matter +of which kind it is. + +@item MUA +MUA is an acronym for Mail User Agent, it's the program you +use to read and write e-mails. + +@item NUA +NUA is an acronym for News User Agent, it's the program you +use to read and write Usenet news. + +@end table + +@ignore +arch-tag: 64dc5692-edb4-4848-a965-7aa0181acbb8 +@end ignore