Mercurial > emacs
changeset 84161:4e8cbe01378d
Move to ../doc/emacs/, misc/
| author | Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:37:03 +0000 |
| parents | 00a98f1e0540 |
| children | a2b620f26f1e |
| files | man/gnus-faq.texi |
| diffstat | 1 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 2307 deletions(-) [+] |
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--- a/man/gnus-faq.texi Thu Sep 06 04:36:58 2007 +0000 +++ /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 @@ -1,2307 +0,0 @@ -@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