/[emacs]/emacs/man/gnus-faq.texi
ViewVC logotype

Diff of /emacs/man/gnus-faq.texi

Parent Directory Parent Directory | Revision Log Revision Log | View Patch Patch

revision 1.13 by miles, Sat Jan 22 21:07:03 2005 UTC revision 1.14 by miles, Wed Mar 30 08:14:32 2005 UTC
# Line 1  Line 1 
1  @c Insert  "\input texinfo" at 1st line before texing this file alone.  @c \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2  @c -*-texinfo-*-  @c Uncomment 1st line before texing this file alone.
3  @c Copyright (C) 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  @c %**start of header
4    @c Copyright (C) 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5    @c
6    @c Do not modify this file, it was generated from gnus-faq.xml, available from
7    @c <URL:http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/>.
8    @c
9  @setfilename gnus-faq.info  @setfilename gnus-faq.info
10    @settitle Frequently Asked Questions
11  @c Frequently Asked Questions, FAQ - Introduction, Emacs for Heathens, Top  @c %**end of header
12    @c
13    
14  @node Frequently Asked Questions  @node Frequently Asked Questions
 @comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up  
   
 @c @chapter Frequently Asked Questions  
15  @section Frequently Asked Questions  @section Frequently Asked Questions
 @cindex FAQ  
 @cindex Frequently Asked Questions  
   
 @c - Uncomment @chapter, comment @section  
 @c - run (texinfo-every-node-update)  
 @c - revert it.  
16    
17  @menu  @menu
18  * FAQ - Introduction::                    About Gnus and this FAQ.  * FAQ - Changes::                          
19  * FAQ 1 - Installation::                  Installation of Gnus.  * FAQ - Introduction::                       About Gnus and this FAQ.
20  * FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer::        Start up questions and the first  * FAQ 1 - Installation FAQ::                 Installation of Gnus.
21                                            buffer Gnus shows you.  * FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer::           Start up questions and the
22  * FAQ 3 - Getting messages::              Making Gnus read your mail and news.                                               first buffer Gnus shows you.
23  * FAQ 4 - Reading messages::              How to efficiently read messages.  * FAQ 3 - Getting Messages::                 Making Gnus read your mail
24  * FAQ 5 - Composing messages::            Composing mails or Usenet postings.                                               and news.
25  * FAQ 6 - Old messages::                  Importing, archiving, searching  * FAQ 4 - Reading messages::                 How to efficiently read
26                                            and deleting messages.                                               messages.
27  * FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment:: Reading mail and news while offline.  * FAQ 5 - Composing messages::               Composing mails or Usenet
28  * FAQ 8 - Getting help::                  When this FAQ isn't enough.                                               postings.
29  * FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus::                   How to make Gnus faster.  * FAQ 6 - Old messages::                     Importing, archiving,
30  * FAQ - Glossary::                        Terms used in the FAQ explained.                                               searching and deleting messages.
31    * FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment::    Reading mail and news while
32                                                 offline.
33    * FAQ 8 - Getting help::                     When this FAQ isn't enough.
34    * FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus::                      How to make Gnus faster.
35    * FAQ - Glossary::                           Terms used in the FAQ
36                                                 explained.
37  @end menu  @end menu
38    
   
39  @subheading Abstract  @subheading Abstract
40    
41   This is the new Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list.  If you have a  This is the new Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list.
42  Web browser, the official hypertext version is at  If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at
43  @uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}, the Docbook source is available from  @uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/},
44  @uref{http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnus/}.  the Docbook source is available from
45    @uref{http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnus/, http://sourceforge.net}.
46    
47    Please submit features and suggestions to the
48    @email{faq-discuss@@my.gnus.org, FAQ discussion list}.
49    The list is protected against junk mail with
50    @uref{http://smarden.org/qconfirm/index.html, qconfirm}. As
51    a subscriber, your submissions will automatically pass.  You can
52    also subscribe to the list by sending a blank email to
53    @email{faq-discuss-subscribe@@my.gnus.org, faq-discuss-subscribe@@my.gnus.org}
54    and @uref{http://mail1.kens.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-browse?command=monthbythread%26list=faq-discuss, browse
55    the archive}.
56    
57   Please submit features and suggestions to the  @node FAQ - Changes
58   @email{faq-discuss@@my.gnus.org,FAQ discussion list}.  @subheading Changes
  The list is protected against junk mail with  
  @uref{http://smarden.org/qconfirm/index.html,qconfirm, 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}  
  and  
  @uref{http://mail1.kens.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-browse?command=monthbythread%26list=faq-discuss,browse  
  the archive, browse the archive}.  
   
 @node FAQ - Introduction, FAQ 1 - Installation, Frequently Asked Questions, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up  
 @heading Introduction  
59    
 This is the Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list.  
60    
 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!  
   
61    
62   If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at:@*  @itemize @bullet
63   @uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}.  
64   This version is much nicer than the unofficial hypertext  @item
65   versions that are archived at Utrecht, Oxford, Smart Pages, Ohio  Updated FAQ to reflect release of Gnus 5.10 and start of
66   State, and other FAQ archives. See the resources question below  No Gnus development.
67   if you want information on obtaining it in another format.  @end itemize
   
68    
69   The information contained here was compiled with the assistance  @node FAQ - Introduction
70   of the Gnus development mailing list, and any errors or  @subheading Introduction
  misprints are the my.gnus.org team's fault, sorry.  
71    
72    This is the Gnus Frequently Asked Questions list.
73    
74  @ifnottex  Gnus is a Usenet Newsreader and Electronic Mail User Agent implemented
75  @node FAQ 1 - Installation, FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer, FAQ - Introduction, Frequently Asked Questions  as a part of Emacs. It's been around in some form for almost a decade
76  @end ifnottex  now, and has been distributed as a standard part of Emacs for much of
77  @subsection Installation  that time. Gnus 5 is the latest (and greatest) incarnation. The
78    original version was called GNUS, and was written by Masanobu UMEDA.
79    When autumn crept up in '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and
80    decided to rewrite Gnus.
81    
82    Its biggest strength is the fact that it is extremely
83    customizable. It is somewhat intimidating at first glance, but
84    most of the complexity can be ignored until you're ready to take
85    advantage of it. If you receive a reasonable volume of e-mail
86    (you're on various mailing lists), or you would like to read
87    high-volume mailing lists but cannot keep up with them, or read
88    high volume newsgroups or are just bored, then Gnus is what you
89    want.
90    
91    This FAQ was maintained by Justin Sheehy until March 2002. He
92    would like to thank Steve Baur and Per Abrahamsen for doing a wonderful
93    job with this FAQ before him. We would like to do the same - thanks,
94    Justin!
95    
96    If you have a Web browser, the official hypertext version is at:
97    @uref{http://my.gnus.org/FAQ/}.
98    This version is much nicer than the unofficial hypertext
99    versions that are archived at Utrecht, Oxford, Smart Pages, Ohio
100    State, and other FAQ archives. See the resources question below
101    if you want information on obtaining it in another format.
102    
103    The information contained here was compiled with the assistance
104    of the Gnus development mailing list, and any errors or
105    misprints are the my.gnus.org team's fault, sorry.
106    
107    @node FAQ 1 - Installation FAQ
108    @subsection Installation FAQ
109    
110  @menu  @menu
111  * [1.1]::   What is the latest version of Gnus?  * [1.1]::    What is the latest version of Gnus?
112  * [1.2]::   What's new in 5.10?  * [1.2]::    What's new in 5.10?
113  * [1.3]::   Where and how to get Gnus?  * [1.3]::    Where and how to get Gnus?
114  * [1.4]::   What to do with the tarball now?  * [1.4]::    What to do with the tarball now?
115  * [1.5]::   Which version of Emacs do I need?  * [1.5]::    I sometimes read references to No Gnus and Oort Gnus, what
116  * [1.6]::   How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs?               are those?
117    * [1.6]::    Which version of Emacs do I need?
118    * [1.7]::    How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs?
119  @end menu  @end menu
120    
121    @node [1.1]
122  @ifnottex  @subsubheading Question 1.1
 @node [1.1], [1.2], FAQ 1 - Installation, FAQ 1 - Installation  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 1.1:  
123    
124  What is the latest version of Gnus?  What is the latest version of Gnus?
125    
126  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
127    
128   Jingle please: Gnus 5.10 is released, get it while it's  Jingle please: Gnus 5.10 is released, get it while it's
129   hot! As well as the step in version number is rather  hot! As well as the step in version number is rather
130   small, Gnus 5.10 has tons of new features which you  small, Gnus 5.10 has tons of new features which you
131   shouldn't miss, however if you are cautious, you might  shouldn't miss. The current release (5.10.6) should be at
132   prefer to stay with 5.8.8 respectively 5.9 (they are  least as stable as the latest release of the 5.8 series.
  basically the same) until some bugfix releases are out.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [1.2], [1.3], [1.1], FAQ 1 - Installation  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 1.2:  
133    
134  What's new in 5.10?  @node [1.2]
135    @subsubheading Question 1.2
136    
137  Answer:  What's new in 5.10?
138    
139   First of all, you should have a look into the file  @subsubheading Answer
  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:  
   
140    
141    First of all, you should have a look into the file
142    GNUS-NEWS in the toplevel directory of the Gnus tarball,
143    there the most important changes are listed. Here's a
144    short list of the changes I find especially
145    important/interesting:
146    
147  @itemize @bullet{}  @itemize @bullet
148    
149  @item  @item
150   Major rewrite of the Gnus agent, Gnus agent is now  Major rewrite of the Gnus agent, Gnus agent is now
151   active by default.  active by default.
152    
153  @item  @item
154   Many new article washing functions for dealing with  Many new article washing functions for dealing with
155   ugly formatted articles.  ugly formatted articles.
156    
157  @item  @item
158   Anti Spam features.  Anti Spam features.
159    
160  @item  @item
161   message-utils now included in Gnus.  Message-utils now included in Gnus.
162    
163  @item  @item
164   New format specifiers for summary lines, e.g. %B for  New format specifiers for summary lines, e.g. %B for
165   a complex trn-style thread tree.  a complex trn-style thread tree.
   
166  @end itemize  @end itemize
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [1.3], [1.4], [1.2], FAQ 1 - Installation  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 1.3:  
   
 Where and how to get Gnus?  
   
 Answer:  
167    
168   The latest released version of Gnus isn't included in  @node [1.3]
169   Emacs 21 and until now it also isn't available through the  @subsubheading Question 1.3
  package system of XEmacs 21.4, therefor you should get the  
  Gnus tarball 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}.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [1.4], [1.5], [1.3], FAQ 1 - Installation  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 1.4:  
170    
171   What to do with the tarball now?  Where and how to get Gnus?
   
172    
173  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
174    
175   Untar it via @samp{tar xvzf gnus.tar.gz} and do the common  The latest released version of Gnus isn't included in
176   @samp{./configure; make; make install} circle.  Emacs 21, therefor you should get the Gnus tarball from
177   (under MS-Windows either get the Cygwin environment from  @uref{http://www.gnus.org/dist/gnus.tar.gz}
178   @uref{http://www.cygwin.com}  or via anonymous FTP from
179   which allows you to do what's described above or unpack the  @uref{ftp://ftp.gnus.org/pub/gnus/gnus.tar.gz}.
180   tarball with some packer (e.g. Winace from  If you use XEmacs instead of Emacs you can use XEmacs'
181   @uref{http://www.winace.com})  package system instead.
182   and use the batch-file make.bat included in the tarball to install  
183   Gnus. If you don't want to (or aren't allowed to) install Gnus  @node [1.4]
184   system-wide, you can install it in your home directory and add the  @subsubheading Question 1.4
185   following lines to your ~/.xemacs/init.el or ~/.emacs:  
186    What to do with the tarball now?
187    
188    @subsubheading Answer
189    
190    Untar it via @samp{tar xvzf gnus.tar.gz} and do the common
191    @samp{./configure; make; make install} circle.
192    (under MS-Windows either get the Cygwin environment from
193    @uref{http://www.cygwin.com}
194    which allows you to do what's described above or unpack the
195    tarball with some packer (e.g. Winace from
196    @uref{http://www.winace.com})
197    and use the batch-file make.bat included in the tarball to install
198    Gnus.) If you don't want to (or aren't allowed to) install Gnus
199    system-wide, you can install it in your home directory and add the
200    following lines to your ~/.xemacs/init.el or ~/.emacs:
201    
202  @example  @example
203  (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/gnus/lisp")  (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/gnus/lisp")
# Line 212  Answer: Line 205  Answer:
205      (add-to-list 'Info-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/")      (add-to-list 'Info-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/")
206    (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/"))    (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "/path/to/gnus/texi/"))
207  @end example  @end example
   
208  @noindent  @noindent
209   Make sure that you don't have any Gnus related stuff  
210   before this line, on MS Windows use something like  Make sure that you don't have any Gnus related stuff
211   "C:/path/to/lisp" (yes, "/").  before this line, on MS Windows use something like
212    "C:/path/to/lisp" (yes, "/").
213  @ifnottex  
214  @node [1.5], [1.6], [1.4], FAQ 1 - Installation  @node [1.5]
215  @end ifnottex  @subsubheading Question 1.5
216  @subsubheading Question 1.5:  
217    I sometimes read references to No Gnus and Oort Gnus,
218    what are those?
219    
220    @subsubheading Answer
221    
222    Oort Gnus was the name of the development version of
223    Gnus, which became Gnus 5.10 in autumn 2003. No Gnus is
224    the name of the current development version which will
225    once become Gnus 5.12 or Gnus 6. (If you're wondering why
226    not 5.11, the odd version numbers are normally used for
227    the Gnus versions bundled with Emacs)
228    
229    @node [1.6]
230    @subsubheading Question 1.6
231    
232  Which version of Emacs do I need?  Which version of Emacs do I need?
233    
234  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
235    
236   Gnus 5.10 requires an Emacs version that is greater  Gnus 5.10 requires an Emacs version that is greater
237   than or equal to Emacs 20.7 or XEmacs 21.1.  than or equal to Emacs 20.7 or XEmacs 21.1. The
238    development versions of Gnus (aka No Gnus) require Emacs
239  @ifnottex  21 or XEmacs 21.4.
240  @node [1.6],  , [1.5], FAQ 1 - Installation  
241  @end ifnottex  @node [1.7]
242  @subsubheading Question 1.6:  @subsubheading Question 1.7
243    
244  How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs?  How do I run Gnus on both Emacs and XEmacs?
245    
246  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
247    
248   You can't use the same copy of Gnus in both as the Lisp  You can't use the same copy of Gnus in both as the Lisp
249   files are byte-compiled to a format which is different  files are byte-compiled to a format which is different
250   depending on which Emacs did the compilation. Get one copy  depending on which Emacs did the compilation. Get one copy
251   of Gnus for Emacs and one for XEmacs.  of Gnus for Emacs and one for XEmacs.
252    
253  @ifnottex  @node FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer
 @node FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer, FAQ 3 - Getting messages, FAQ 1 - Installation, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @end ifnottex  
254  @subsection Startup / Group buffer  @subsection Startup / Group buffer
255    
256  @menu  @menu
257  * [2.1]::   Every time I start Gnus I get a message  * [2.1]::    Every time I start Gnus I get a message "Gnus auto-save
258              "Gnus auto-save file exists. Do you want to read it?",               file exists. Do you want to read it?", what does this mean and
259              what does this mean and how to prevent it?               how to prevent it?
260  * [2.2]::   Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to, what's this?  * [2.2]::    Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to,
261  * [2.3]::   How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer?               what's this?
262  * [2.4]::   My group buffer becomes a bit crowded, is there a way to sort my  * [2.3]::    How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer?
263              groups into categories so I can easier browse through them?  * [2.4]::    My group buffer becomes a bit crowded, is there a way to
264  * [2.5]::   How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to sort the               sort my groups into categories so I can easier browse through
265              groups in a topic?               them?
266    * [2.5]::    How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to
267                 sort the groups in a topic?
268  @end menu  @end menu
269    
270  @ifnottex  @node [2.1]
271  @node [2.1], [2.2], FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer, FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer  @subsubheading Question 2.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
272    
273  Answer:  Every time I start Gnus I get a message "Gnus auto-save
274    file exists. Do you want to read it?", what does this mean
275    and how to prevent it?
276    
277   This message means that the last time you used Gnus, it  @subsubheading Answer
  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.  
   
278    
279   To prevent this message make sure you exit Gnus  This message means that the last time you used Gnus, it
280   via @samp{q} in group buffer instead of  wasn't properly exited and therefor couldn't write its
281   just killing Emacs.  informations to disk (e.g. which messages you read), you
282    are now asked if you want to restore those informations
283  @ifnottex  from the auto-save file.
 @node [2.2], [2.3], [2.1], FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question: 2.2  
284    
285   Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to,  To prevent this message make sure you exit Gnus
286   what's this?  via @samp{q} in group buffer instead of
287    just killing Emacs.
288    
289  Answer:  @node [2.2]
290    @subsubheading Question 2.2
291    
292   You get the message described in the q/a pair above while  Gnus doesn't remember which groups I'm subscribed to,
293   starting Gnus, right? It's an other symptom for the same  what's this?
  problem, so read the answer above.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [2.3], [2.4], [2.2], FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 2.3:  
294    
295   How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer?  @subsubheading Answer
   
296    
297  Answer:  You get the message described in the q/a pair above while
298    starting Gnus, right? It's an other symptom for the same
299    problem, so read the answer above.
300    
301   You've got to tweak the value of the variable  @node [2.3]
302   gnus-group-line-format. See the manual node "Group Line  @subsubheading Question 2.3
  Specification" for information on how to do this. An  
  example for this (guess from whose .gnus :-)):  
   
303    
304  @example  How to change the format of the lines in Group buffer?
305    
306  (setq gnus-group-line-format "%P%M%S[%5t]%5y : %(%g%)\n")  @subsubheading Answer
               
 @end example  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [2.4], [2.5], [2.3], FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
307    
308  Answer:  You've got to tweak the value of the variable
309    gnus-group-line-format. See the manual node "Group Line
310    Specification" for information on how to do this. An
311    example for this (guess from whose .gnus :-)):
312    
313   Gnus offers the topic mode, it allows you to sort your  @example
314   groups in, well, topics, e.g. all groups dealing with  (setq gnus-group-line-format "%P%M%S[%5t]%5y : %(%g%)\n")
315   Linux under the topic linux, all dealing with music under  @end example
316   the topic music and all dealing with scottish music under  @noindent
  the topic scottish which is a subtopic of music.  
   
317    
318   To enter topic mode, just hit t while in Group buffer. Now  @node [2.4]
319   you can use @samp{T n} to create a topic  @subsubheading Question 2.4
  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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [2.5],  , [2.4], FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 2.5:  
320    
321   How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to  My group buffer becomes a bit crowded, is there a way to
322   sort the groups in a topic?  sort my groups into categories so I can easier browse
323    through them?
324    
325    @subsubheading Answer
326    
327    Gnus offers the topic mode, it allows you to sort your
328    groups in, well, topics, e.g. all groups dealing with
329    Linux under the topic linux, all dealing with music under
330    the topic music and all dealing with scottish music under
331    the topic scottish which is a subtopic of music.
332    
333    To enter topic mode, just hit t while in Group buffer. Now
334    you can use @samp{T n} to create a topic
335    at point and @samp{T m} to move a group to
336    a specific topic. For more commands see the manual or the
337    menu. You might want to include the %P specifier at the
338    beginning of your gnus-group-line-format variable to have
339    the groups nicely indented.
340    
341    @node [2.5]
342    @subsubheading Question 2.5
343    
344    How to manually sort the groups in Group buffer? How to
345    sort the groups in a topic?
346    
347    @subsubheading Answer
348    
349    Move point over the group you want to move and
350    hit @samp{C-k}, now move point to the
351    place where you want the group to be and
352    hit @samp{C-y}.
353    
354  Answer:  @node FAQ 3 - Getting Messages
355    @subsection Getting Messages
  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}.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node FAQ 3 - Getting messages, FAQ 4 - Reading messages, FAQ 2 - Startup / Group buffer, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsection Getting messages  
356    
357  @menu  @menu
358  * [3.1]::   I just installed Gnus, started it via M-x gnus but it only says  * [3.1]::     I just installed Gnus, started it via  @samp{M-x gnus}
359              "nntp (news) open error", what to do?                but it only says "nntp (news) open error", what to do?
360  * [3.2]::   I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus means.  * [3.2]::     I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus.el
361  * [3.3]::   My news server requires authentication, how to store user name                means.
362              and password on disk?  * [3.3]::     My news server requires authentication, how to store user
363  * [3.4]::   Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to                name and password on disk?
364              subscribe to a group.  * [3.4]::     Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to
365  * [3.5]::   Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed to                subscribe to a group.
366              post on this server as well as I am, what's that?  * [3.5]::     Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed
367  * [3.6]::   I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this possible?                to post on this server as well as I am, what's that?
368  * [3.7]::   And how about local spool files?  * [3.6]::     I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this
369  * [3.8]::   OK, reading news works now, but I want to be able to read my mail                possible?
370              with Gnus, too. How to do it?  * [3.7]::     And how about local spool files?
371  * [3.9]::   And what about IMAP?  * [3.8]::     OK, reading news works now, but I want to be able to read
372  * [3.10]::  At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers,                my mail with Gnus, too. How to do it?
373              can I use Gnus to read my mail from it?  * [3.9]::     And what about IMAP?
374  * [3.11]::  Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server  * [3.10]::    At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers, can
375              it retrieves via POP3?                I use Gnus to read my mail from it?
376    * [3.11]::    Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server it
377                  retrieves via POP3?
378  @end menu  @end menu
379    
380  @ifnottex  @node [3.1]
381  @node [3.1], [3.2], FAQ 3 - Getting messages, FAQ 3 - Getting messages  @subsubheading Question 3.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
   
 Answer:  
382    
383   You've got to tell Gnus where to fetch the news from. Read  I just installed Gnus, started it via
384   the documentation for information on how to do this. As a  @samp{M-x gnus}
385   first start, put those lines in ~/.gnus:  but it only says "nntp (news) open error", what to do?
386    
387    @subsubheading Answer
388    
389    You've got to tell Gnus where to fetch the news from. Read
390    the documentation for information on how to do this. As a
391    first start, put those lines in ~/.gnus.el:
392    
393  @example  @example
394  (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.yourprovider.net"))  (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.yourprovider.net"))
395  (setq user-mail-address "you@@yourprovider.net")  (setq user-mail-address "you@@yourprovider.net")
396  (setq user-full-name "Your Name")  (setq user-full-name "Your Name")
397  @end example  @end example
398    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.2], [3.3], [3.1], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.2:  
399    
400   I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus means.  @node [3.2]
401    @subsubheading Question 3.2
402    
403  Answer:  I'm working under Windows and have no idea what ~/.gnus.el means.
404    
405   The ~/ means the home directory where Gnus and Emacs look for the  @subsubheading Answer
 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 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. @file{c:\myhome}. Then you must set the environment  
 variable HOME to this directory. To do this under Win9x or Me include  
 the line  
   
406    
407  @example  The ~/ means the home directory where Gnus and Emacs look
408    for the configuration files.  However, you don't really
409    need to know what this means, it suffices that Emacs knows
410    what it means :-) You can type
411    @samp{C-x C-f ~/.gnus.el RET }
412    (yes, with the forward slash, even on Windows), and
413    Emacs will open the right file for you.  (It will most
414    likely be new, and thus empty.)
415    However, I'd discourage you from doing so, since the
416    directory Emacs chooses will most certainly not be what
417    you want, so let's do it the correct way.
418    The first thing you've got to do is to
419    create a suitable directory (no blanks in directory name
420    please) e.g. c:\myhome. Then you must set the environment
421    variable HOME to this directory.  To do this under Win9x
422    or Me include the line
423    
424    @example
425  SET HOME=C:\myhome  SET HOME=C:\myhome
               
426  @end example  @end example
   
427  @noindent  @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). There you'll  
  find the possibility to set environment variables, create  
  a new one with name HOME and value @file{c:\myhome}, a reboot is  
  not necessary.  
   
428    
429   Now to create ~/.gnus, say  in your autoexec.bat and reboot.  Under NT, 2000 and XP,
430   @samp{C-x C-f ~/.gnus RET C-x C-s}.  hit Winkey+Pause/Break to enter system options (if it
431   in Emacs.  doesn't work, go to Control Panel -> System). There you'll
432    find the possibility to set environment variables, create
433  @ifnottex  a new one with name HOME and value C:\myhome, a reboot is
434  @node [3.3], [3.4], [3.2], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  not necessary.
435  @end ifnottex  
436  @subsubheading Question 3.3:  Now to create ~/.gnus.el, say
437    @samp{C-x C-f ~/.gnus.el RET C-x C-s}.
438    in Emacs.
439    
440    @node [3.3]
441    @subsubheading Question 3.3
442    
443   My news server requires authentication, how to store  My news server requires authentication, how to store
444   user name and password on disk?  user name and password on disk?
   
445    
446  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
447    
448   Create a file ~/.authinfo which includes for each server a line like this  Create a file ~/.authinfo which includes for each server a line like this
   
449    
450  @example  @example
451  machine news.yourprovider.net login YourUserName password YourPassword  machine news.yourprovider.net login YourUserName password YourPassword
452  @end example  @end example
   
453  @noindent  @noindent
454  .  .
455   Make sure that the file isn't readable to others if you  Make sure that the file isn't readable to others if you
456   work on a OS which is capable of doing so. (Under Unix  work on a OS which is capable of doing so.  (Under Unix
457   say  say
   
458  @example  @example
459  chmod 600 ~/.authinfo  chmod 600 ~/.authinfo
460  @end example  @end example
   
461  @noindent  @noindent
  in a shell.)  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.4], [3.5], [3.3], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.4:  
462    
463   Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to  in a shell.)
  subscribe to a group.  
   
464    
465  Answer:  @node [3.4]
466    @subsubheading Question 3.4
467    
468   If you know the name of the group say @samp{U  Gnus seems to start up OK, but I can't find out how to
469   name.of.group RET} in group buffer (use the  subscribe to a group.
  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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.5], [3.6], [3.4], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.5:  
470    
471   Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed to  @subsubheading Answer
  post on this server as well as I am, what's that?  
   
472    
473  Answer:  If you know the name of the group say @samp{U
474    name.of.group RET} in group buffer (use the
475    tab-completion Luke). Otherwise hit ^ in group buffer,
476    this brings you to the server buffer. Now place point (the
477    cursor) over the server which carries the group you want,
478    hit @samp{RET}, move point to the group
479    you want to subscribe to and say @samp{u}
480    to subscribe to it.
481    
482   Some providers allow restricted anonymous access and full  @node [3.5]
483   access only after authorization. To make Gnus send authinfo  @subsubheading Question 3.5
484   to those servers append  
485    Gnus doesn't show all groups / Gnus says I'm not allowed to
486    post on this server as well as I am, what's that?
487    
488    @subsubheading Answer
489    
490    Some providers allow restricted anonymous access and full
491    access only after authorization. To make Gnus send authinfo
492    to those servers append
493    
494  @example  @example
495  force yes  force yes
496  @end example  @end example
   
   
497  @noindent  @noindent
  to the line for those servers in ~/.authinfo.  
498    
499  @ifnottex  to the line for those servers in ~/.authinfo.
 @node [3.6], [3.7], [3.5], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.6:  
500    
501   I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this possible?  @node [3.6]
502    @subsubheading Question 3.6
503    
504  Answer:  I want Gnus to fetch news from several servers, is this possible?
505    
506   Of course. You can specify more sources for articles in the  @subsubheading Answer
507   variable gnus-secondary-select-methods. Add something like  
508   this in ~/.gnus:  Of course. You can specify more sources for articles in the
509    variable gnus-secondary-select-methods. Add something like
510    this in ~/.gnus.el:
511    
512  @example  @example
513  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods
514               '(nntp "news.yourSecondProvider.net"))               '(nntp "news.yourSecondProvider.net"))
515  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods
516               '(nntp "news.yourThirdProvider.net"))                         '(nntp "news.yourThirdProvider.net"))
517  @end example  @end example
518    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.7], [3.8], [3.6], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.7:  
519    
520   And how about local spool files?  @node [3.7]
521    @subsubheading Question 3.7
522    
523  Answer:  And how about local spool files?
524    
525   No problem, this is just one more select method called  @subsubheading Answer
526   nnspool, so you want this:  
527    No problem, this is just one more select method called
528    nnspool, so you want this:
529    
530  @example  @example
531  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnspool ""))  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnspool ""))
532  @end example  @end example
   
533  @noindent  @noindent
534   Or this if you don't want an NNTP Server as primary news source:  
535    Or this if you don't want an NNTP Server as primary news source:
536    
537  @example  @example
538  (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))  (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
539  @end example  @end example
   
540  @noindent  @noindent
541   Gnus will look for the spool file in /usr/spool/news, if you  
542   want something different, change the line above to something like this:  Gnus will look for the spool file in /usr/spool/news, if you
543    want something different, change the line above to something like this:
544    
545  @example  @example
546  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods
547               '(nnspool "" (nnspool-directory "/usr/local/myspoolddir")))               '(nnspool ""
548                           (nnspool-directory "/usr/local/myspoolddir")))
549  @end example  @end example
   
550  @noindent  @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.8], [3.9], [3.7], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
   
 Answer:  
551    
552   That's a bit harder since there are many possible sources  This sets the spool directory for this server only.
553   for mail, many possible ways for storing mail and many  You might have to specify more stuff like the program used
554   different ways for sending mail. The most common cases are  to post articles, see the Gnus manual on how to do this.
555   these: 1: You want to read your mail from a pop3 server and  
556   send them directly to a SMTP Server 2: Some program like  @node [3.8]
557   fetchmail retrieves your mail and stores it on disk from  @subsubheading Question 3.8
558   where Gnus shall read it. Outgoing mail is sent by  
559   Sendmail, Postfix or some other MTA. Sometimes, you even  OK, reading news works now, but I want to be able to read my mail
560   need a combination of the above cases.  with Gnus, too. How to do it?
561    
562    @subsubheading Answer
563   However, the first thing to do is to tell Gnus in which way  
564   it should store the mail, in Gnus terminology which back end  That's a bit harder since there are many possible sources
565   to use. Gnus supports many different back ends, the most  for mail, many possible ways for storing mail and many
566   commonly used one is nnml. It stores every mail in one file  different ways for sending mail. The most common cases are
567   and is therefor quite fast. However you might prefer a one  these: 1: You want to read your mail from a pop3 server and
568   file per group approach if your file system has problems with  send them directly to a SMTP Server 2: Some program like
569   many small files, the nnfolder back end is then probably the  fetchmail retrieves your mail and stores it on disk from
570   choice for you. To use nnml add the following to ~/.gnus:  where Gnus shall read it. Outgoing mail is sent by
571    Sendmail, Postfix or some other MTA. Sometimes, you even
572    need a combination of the above cases.
573    
574    However, the first thing to do is to tell Gnus in which way
575    it should store the mail, in Gnus terminology which back end
576    to use. Gnus supports many different back ends, the most
577    commonly used one is nnml. It stores every mail in one file
578    and is therefor quite fast. However you might prefer a one
579    file per group approach if your file system has problems with
580    many small files, the nnfolder back end is then probably the
581    choice for you.  To use nnml add the following to ~/.gnus.el:
582    
583  @example  @example
584  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnml ""))  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnml ""))
585  @end example  @end example
   
586  @noindent  @noindent
587   As you might have guessed, if you want nnfolder, it's  
588    As you might have guessed, if you want nnfolder, it's
589    
590  @example  @example
591  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnfolder ""))  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods '(nnfolder ""))
592  @end example  @end example
593    @noindent
594    
595   Now we need to tell Gnus, where to get it's mail from. If  Now we need to tell Gnus, where to get it's mail from. If
596   it's a POP3 server, then you need something like this:  it's a POP3 server, then you need something like this:
   
597    
598  @example  @example
599  (eval-after-load "mail-source"  (eval-after-load "mail-source"
# Line 649  Answer: Line 601  Answer:
601                                      :user "yourUserName"                                      :user "yourUserName"
602                                      :password "yourPassword")))                                      :password "yourPassword")))
603  @end example  @end example
   
604  @noindent  @noindent
605   Make sure ~/.gnus isn't readable to others if you store  
606   your password there. If you want to read your mail from a  Make sure ~/.gnus.el isn't readable to others if you store
607   traditional spool file on your local machine, it's  your password there. If you want to read your mail from a
608    traditional spool file on your local machine, it's
609    
610  @example  @example
611  (eval-after-load "mail-source"  (eval-after-load "mail-source"
612    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(file :path "/path/to/spool/file")))    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(file :path "/path/to/spool/file"))
613  @end example  @end example
   
614  @noindent  @noindent
615   If it's a Maildir, with one file per message as used by  
616   postfix, Qmail and (optionally) fetchmail it's  If it's a Maildir, with one file per message as used by
617    postfix, Qmail and (optionally) fetchmail it's
618    
619  @example  @example
620  (eval-after-load "mail-source"  (eval-after-load "mail-source"
621    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(maildir :path "/path/to/Maildir/"    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(maildir :path "/path/to/Maildir/"
622                                          :subdirs ("cur" "new")))                                          :subdirs ("cur" "new")))
623  @end example  @end example
   
624  @noindent  @noindent
625   And finally if you want to read your mail from several files  
626   in one directory, for example because procmail already split your  And finally if you want to read your mail from several files
627   mail, it's  in one directory, for example because procmail already split your
628    mail, it's
629    
630  @example  @example
631  (eval-after-load "mail-source"  (eval-after-load "mail-source"
632    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources '(directory :path "/path/to/procmail-dir/"    '(add-to-list 'mail-sources
633                                            :suffix ".prcml"))                  '(directory :path "/path/to/procmail-dir/"
634                                :suffix ".prcml")))
635  @end example  @end example
   
636  @noindent  @noindent
  Where :suffix ".prcml" tells Gnus only to use files with the  
  suffix .prcml.  
   
637    
638   OK, now you only need to tell Gnus how to send mail. If you  Where :suffix ".prcml" tells Gnus only to use files with the
639   want to send mail via sendmail (or whichever MTA is playing  suffix .prcml.
640   the role of sendmail on your system), you don't need to do  
641   anything. However, if you want to send your mail to an  OK, now you only need to tell Gnus how to send mail. If you
642   SMTP Server you need the following in your ~/.gnus  want to send mail via sendmail (or whichever MTA is playing
643    the role of sendmail on your system), you don't need to do
644    anything. However, if you want to send your mail to an
645    SMTP Server you need the following in your ~/.gnus.el
646    
647  @example  @example
648  (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)  (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
649  (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)  (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
650  (setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.yourProvider.net")  (setq smtpmail-default-smtp-server "smtp.yourProvider.net")
651  @end example  @end example
652    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.9], [3.10], [3.8], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.9:  
653    
654   And what about IMAP?  @node [3.9]
655    @subsubheading Question 3.9
656    
657  Answer:  And what about IMAP?
658    
659   There are two ways of using IMAP with Gnus. The first one is  @subsubheading Answer
660   to use IMAP like POP3, that means Gnus fetches the mail from  
661   the IMAP server and stores it on disk. If you want to do  There are two ways of using IMAP with Gnus. The first one is
662   this (you don't really want to do this) add the following to  to use IMAP like POP3, that means Gnus fetches the mail from
663   ~/.gnus  the IMAP server and stores it on disk. If you want to do
664    this (you don't really want to do this) add the following to
665    ~/.gnus.el
666    
667  @example  @example
668  (add-to-list 'mail-sources '(imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"  (add-to-list 'mail-sources '(imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
# Line 728  Answer: Line 673  Answer:
673                                    :mailbox "INBOX"                                    :mailbox "INBOX"
674                                    :fetchflag "\\Seen"))                                    :fetchflag "\\Seen"))
675  @end example  @end example
   
676  @noindent  @noindent
  You might have to tweak the values for stream and/or  
  authentification, see the Gnus manual node "Mail Source  
  Specifiers" for possible values.  
   
677    
678   If you want to use IMAP the way it's intended, you've got to  You might have to tweak the values for stream and/or
679   follow a different approach. You've got to add the nnimap  authentification, see the Gnus manual node "Mail Source
680   back end to your select method and give the information  Specifiers" for possible values.
681   about the server there.  
682    If you want to use IMAP the way it's intended, you've got to
683    follow a different approach.  You've got to add the nnimap
684    back end to your select method and give the information
685    about the server there.
686    
687  @example  @example
688  (add-to-list  (add-to-list 'gnus-secondary-select-methods
689   'gnus-secondary-select-methods               '(nnimap "Give the baby a name"
690   '(nnimap "Give the baby a name"                        (nnimap-address "imap.yourProvider.net")
691            (nnimap-address "imap.yourProvider.net")                        (nnimap-port 143)
692            (nnimap-port 143)                        (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")))
           (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")))  
693  @end example  @end example
   
694  @noindent  @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.10], [3.11], [3.9], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.10:  
695    
696   At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers, can I use  Again, you might have to specify how to authenticate to the
697   Gnus to read my mail from it?  server if Gnus can't guess the correct way, see the Manual
698    Node "IMAP" for detailed information.
699    
700    @node [3.10]
701    @subsubheading Question 3.10
702    
703    At the office we use one of those MS Exchange servers, can I use
704    Gnus to read my mail from it?
705    
706    @subsubheading Answer
707    
708    Offer your administrator a pair of new running shoes for
709    activating IMAP on the server and follow the instructions
710    above.
711    
712    @node [3.11]
713    @subsubheading Question 3.11
714    
715    Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server it
716    retrieves via POP3?
717    
718    @subsubheading Answer
719    
720    First of all, that's not the way POP3 is intended to work,
721    if you have the possibility, you should use the IMAP
722    Protocol if you want your messages to stay on the
723    server. Nevertheless there might be situations where you
724    need the feature, but sadly Gnus itself has no predefined
725    functionality to do so.
726    
727    However this is Gnus county so there are possibilities to
728    achieve what you want. The easiest way is to get an external
729    program which retrieves copies of the mail and stores them
730    on disk, so Gnus can read it from there. On Unix systems you
731    could use e.g. fetchmail for this, on MS Windows you can use
732    Hamster, an excellent local news and mail server.
733    
734    The other solution would be, to replace the method Gnus
735    uses to get mail from POP3 servers by one which is capable
736    of leaving the mail on the server. If you use XEmacs, get
737    the package mail-lib, it includes an enhanced pop3.el,
738    look in the file, there's documentation on how to tell
739    Gnus to use it and not to delete the retrieved mail. For
740    GNU Emacs look for the file epop3.el which can do the same
741    (If you know the home of this file, please send me an
742    e-mail). You can also tell Gnus to use an external program
743    (e.g. fetchmail) to fetch your mail, see the info node
744    "Mail Source Specifiers" in the Gnus manual on how to do
745    it.
746    
747  Answer:  @node FAQ 4 - Reading messages
   
  Offer your administrator a pair of new running shoes for  
  activating IMAP on the server and follow the instructions  
  above.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [3.11],  , [3.10], FAQ 3 - Getting messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 3.11:  
   
  Can I tell Gnus not to delete the mails on the server it  
  retrieves via POP3?  
   
   
 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.  
   
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node FAQ 4 - Reading messages, FAQ 5 - Composing messages, FAQ 3 - Getting messages, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @end ifnottex  
748  @subsection Reading messages  @subsection Reading messages
749    
750  @menu  @menu
751  * [4.1]::   When I enter a group, all read messages are gone.  * [4.1]::     When I enter a group, all read messages are gone. How to
752              How to view them again?                view them again?
753  * [4.2]::   How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time  * [4.2]::     How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time I
754              I enter a group, even when it's read?                enter a group, even when it's read?
755  * [4.3]::   How to view the headers of a message?  * [4.3]::     How to view the headers of a message?
756  * [4.4]::   How to view the raw unformatted message?  * [4.4]::     How to view the raw unformatted message?
757  * [4.5]::   How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at the  * [4.5]::     How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at
758              top of the article buffer?                the top of the article buffer?
759  * [4.6]::   I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the  * [4.6]::     I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the
760              text part if it's available. How to do it?                text part if it's available. How to do it?
761  * [4.7]::   Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my HTML-mails?  * [4.7]::     Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my
762  * [4.8]::   Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails                HTML-mails?
763              more readable?  * [4.8]::     Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails
764  * [4.9]::   Is there a way to automatically ignore posts by specific authors                more readable?
765              or with specific words in the subject? And can I highlight more  * [4.9]::     Is there a way to automatically ignore posts by specific
766              interesting ones in some way?                authors or with specific words in the subject? And can I highlight
767  * [4.10]::  How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or set                more interesting ones in some way?
768              other variables specific for some groups?  * [4.10]::    How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups,
769  * [4.11]::  Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to those?                or set other variables specific for some groups?
770  * [4.12]::  The number of total messages in a group which Gnus displays in  * [4.11]::    Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to
771              group buffer is by far to high, especially in mail groups.                those?
772              Is this a bug?  * [4.12]::    The number of total messages in a group which Gnus
773  * [4.13]::  I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer,                displays in group buffer is by far to high, especially in mail
774              how to change it?  Perhaps even a three pane display?                groups. Is this a bug?
775  * [4.14]::  I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to tweak it?  * [4.13]::    I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer, how
776  * [4.15]::  How to split incoming mails in several groups?                to change it? Perhaps even a three pane display?
777    * [4.14]::    I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to
778                  tweak it?
779    * [4.15]::    How to split incoming mails in several groups?
780  @end menu  @end menu
781    
782  @ifnottex  @node [4.1]
783  @node [4.1], [4.2], FAQ 4 - Reading messages, FAQ 4 - Reading messages  @subsubheading Question 4.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.1:  
784    
785   When I enter a group, all read messages are gone. How to view them again?  When I enter a group, all read messages are gone. How to view them again?
   
786    
787  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
788    
789   If you enter the group by saying  If you enter the group by saying  
790   @samp{RET}  @samp{RET}
791   in group buffer with point over the group, only unread and ticked messages are loaded. Say  in group buffer with point over the group, only unread and ticked messages are loaded. Say
792   @samp{C-u RET}  @samp{C-u RET}
793   instead to load all available messages. If you want only the e.g. 300 newest say  instead to load all available messages. If you want only the e.g. 300 newest say
794   @samp{C-u 300 RET}  @samp{C-u 300 RET}
   
795    
796   Loading only unread messages can be annoying if you have threaded view enabled, say  Loading only unread messages can be annoying if you have threaded view enabled, say
   
797    
798  @example  @example
799  (setq gnus-fetch-old-headers 'some)  (setq gnus-fetch-old-headers 'some)
800  @end example  @end example
   
   
801  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus 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).  
802    
803    in ~/.gnus.el to load enough old articles to prevent teared threads, replace 'some with t to load
804    all articles (Warning: Both settings enlarge the amount of data which is
805    fetched when you enter a group and slow down the process of entering a group).
806    
807   If you already use Gnus 5.10, you can say  If you already use Gnus 5.10, you can say
808   @samp{/o N}  @samp{/o N}
809   In summary buffer to load the last N messages, this feature is not available in 5.8.8  In summary buffer to load the last N messages, this feature is not available in 5.8.8
   
810    
811   If you don't want all old messages, but the parent of the message you're just reading,  If you don't want all old messages, but the parent of the message you're just reading,
812   you can say @samp{^}, if you want to retrieve the whole thread  you can say @samp{^}, if you want to retrieve the whole thread
813   the message you're just reading belongs to, @samp{A T} is your friend.  the message you're just reading belongs to, @samp{A T} is your friend.
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.2], [4.3], [4.1], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.2:  
814    
815   How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time I  @node [4.2]
816   enter a group, even when it's read?  @subsubheading Question 4.2
   
817    
818  Answer:  How to tell Gnus to show an important message every time I
819    enter a group, even when it's read?
820    
821   You can tick important messages. To do this hit  @subsubheading Answer
  @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).  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.3], [4.4], [4.2], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.3:  
822    
823   How to view the headers of a message?  You can tick important messages. To do this hit
824    @samp{u} while point is in summary buffer
825    over the message. When you want to remove the mark, hit
826    either @samp{d} (this deletes the tick
827    mark and set's unread mark) or @samp{M c}
828    (which deletes all marks for the message).
829    
830  Answer:  @node [4.3]
831    @subsubheading Question 4.3
832    
833   Say @samp{t}  How to view the headers of a message?
  to show all headers, one more  
  @samp{t}  
  hides them again.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.4], [4.5], [4.3], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.4:  
834    
835   How to view the raw unformatted message?  @subsubheading Answer
   
836    
837  Answer:  Say @samp{t}
838    to show all headers, one more
839    @samp{t}
840    hides them again.
841    
842   Say  @node [4.4]
843   @samp{C-u g}  @subsubheading Question 4.4
  to show the raw message  
  @samp{g}  
  returns to normal view.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.5], [4.6], [4.4], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.5:  
844    
845   How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at  How to view the raw unformatted message?
  the top of the article buffer?  
   
846    
847  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
848    
849    Say
850    @samp{C-u g}
851    to show the raw message
852    @samp{g}
853    returns to normal view.
854    
855    @node [4.5]
856    @subsubheading Question 4.5
857    
858    How can I change the headers Gnus displays by default at
859    the top of the article buffer?
860    
861    @subsubheading Answer
862    
863    The variable gnus-visible-headers controls which headers
864    are shown, its value is a regular expression, header lines
865    which match it are shown. So if you want author, subject,
866    date, and if the header exists, Followup-To and MUA / NUA
867    say this in ~/.gnus.el:
868    
  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:  
   
869  @example  @example
870  (setq gnus-visible-headers  (setq gnus-visible-headers
871        "^\\(From:\\|Subject:\\|Date:\\|Followup-To:\        '("^From" "^Subject" "^Date" "^Newsgroups" "^Followup-To"
872  \\|X-Newsreader:\\|User-Agent:\\|X-Mailer:\\)")          "^User-Agent" "^X-Newsreader" "^X-Mailer"))
873  @end example  @end example
874    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.6], [4.7], [4.5], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.6:  
875    
876   I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the  @node [4.6]
877   text part if it's available. How to do it?  @subsubheading Question 4.6
   
878    
879  Answer:  I'd like Gnus NOT to render HTML-mails but show me the
880    text part if it's available. How to do it?
881    
882   Say  @subsubheading Answer
883    
884    Say
885    
886  @example  @example
887  (eval-after-load "mm-decode"  (eval-after-load "mm-decode"
# Line 978  Answer: Line 889  Answer:
889        (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/html")        (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/html")
890        (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/richtext")))        (add-to-list 'mm-discouraged-alternatives "text/richtext")))
891  @end example  @end example
   
892  @noindent  @noindent
893   in ~/.gnus. If you don't want HTML rendered, even if there's no text alternative add  
894    in ~/.gnus.el. If you don't want HTML rendered, even if there's no text alternative add
895    
896  @example  @example
897  (setq mm-automatic-display (remove "text/html" mm-automatic-display))  (setq mm-automatic-display (remove "text/html" mm-automatic-display))
898  @end example  @end example
   
899  @noindent  @noindent
  too.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.7], [4.8], [4.6], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.7:  
900    
901   Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my HTML-mails?  too.
   
902    
903  Answer:  @node [4.7]
904    @subsubheading Question 4.7
905    
906   Only if you use Gnus 5.10 or younger. In this case you've got the  Can I use some other browser than w3 to render my HTML-mails?
907   choice between w3, w3m, links, lynx and html2text, which  
908   one is used can be specified in the variable  @subsubheading Answer
909   mm-text-html-renderer, so if you want links to render your  
910   mail say  Only if you use Gnus 5.10 or younger. In this case you've got the
911    choice between w3, w3m, links, lynx and html2text, which
912    one is used can be specified in the variable
913    mm-text-html-renderer, so if you want links to render your
914    mail say
915    
916  @example  @example
917  (setq mm-text-html-renderer 'links)  (setq mm-text-html-renderer 'links)
918  @end example  @end example
919    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.8], [4.9], [4.7], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.8:  
   
  Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails  
  more readable?  
   
   
 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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.9], [4.10], [4.8], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
920    
921  Answer:  @node [4.8]
922    @subsubheading Question 4.8
923    
924   You want Scoring. Scoring means, that you define rules  Is there anything I can do to make poorly formatted mails
925   which assign each message an integer value. Depending on  more readable?
  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.  
   
926    
927   There are basically three ways of setting up rules which assign  @subsubheading Answer
  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}.  
   
928    
929   You can also set up rules by hand. To do this say @samp{V  Gnus offers you several functions to "wash" incoming mail, you can
930   f} in summary buffer. Then you are asked for the name  find them if you browse through the menu, item
931   of the score file, it's name.of.group.SCORE for rules valid in  Article->Washing. The most interesting ones are probably "Wrap
932   only one group or all.Score for rules valid in all groups. See the  long lines" (@samp{W w}), "Decode ROT13"
933   Gnus manual for the exact syntax, basically it's one big list  (@samp{W r}) and "Outlook Deuglify" which repairs
934   whose elements are lists again. the first element of those lists  the dumb quoting used by many users of Microsoft products
935   is the header to score on, then one more list with what to match,  (@samp{W Y f} gives you full deuglify.
936   which score to assign, when to expire the rule and how to do the  See @samp{W Y C-h} or have a look at the menus for
937   matching. If you find me very interesting, you could e.g. add the  other deuglifications).  Outlook deuglify is only available since
938   following to your all.Score:  Gnus 5.10.
939    
940    @node [4.9]
941    @subsubheading Question 4.9
942    
943    Is there a way to automatically ignore posts by specific
944    authors or with specific words in the subject? And can I
945    highlight more interesting ones in some way?
946    
947    @subsubheading Answer
948    
949    You want Scoring. Scoring means, that you define rules
950    which assign each message an integer value. Depending on
951    the value the message is highlighted in summary buffer (if
952    it's high, say +2000) or automatically marked read (if the
953    value is low, say -800) or some other action happens.
954    
955    There are basically three ways of setting up rules which assign
956    the scoring-value to messages. The first and easiest way is to set
957    up rules based on the article you are just reading. Say you're
958    reading a message by a guy who always writes nonsense and you want
959    to ignore his messages in the future. Hit
960    @samp{L}, to set up a rule which lowers the score.
961    Now Gnus asks you which the criteria for lowering the Score shall
962    be. Hit @samp{?} twice to see all possibilities,
963    we want @samp{a} which means the author (the from
964    header). Now Gnus wants to know which kind of matching we want.
965    Hit either @samp{e} for an exact match or
966    @samp{s} for substring-match and delete afterwards
967    everything but the name to score down all authors with the given
968    name no matter which email address is used. Now you need to tell
969    Gnus when to apply the rule and how long it should last, hit e.g.
970    @samp{p} to apply the rule now and let it last
971    forever. If you want to raise the score instead of lowering it say
972    @samp{I} instead of @samp{L}.
973    
974    You can also set up rules by hand. To do this say @samp{V
975    f} in summary buffer. Then you are asked for the name
976    of the score file, it's name.of.group.SCORE for rules valid in
977    only one group or all.Score for rules valid in all groups. See the
978    Gnus manual for the exact syntax, basically it's one big list
979    whose elements are lists again. the first element of those lists
980    is the header to score on, then one more list with what to match,
981    which score to assign, when to expire the rule and how to do the
982    matching. If you find me very interesting, you could e.g. add the
983    following to your all.Score:
984    
985  @example  @example
986  (("references" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 500 nil s))  (("references" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 500 nil s))
987   ("message-id" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 999 nil s)))   ("message-id" ("hschmi22.userfqdn.rz-online.de" 999 nil s)))
988  @end example  @end example
   
989  @noindent  @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 :-)  
   
990    
991   The third alternative is adaptive scoring. This means Gnus  This would add 999 to the score of messages written by me
992   watches you and tries to find out what you find  and 500 to the score of messages which are a (possibly
993   interesting and what annoying and sets up rules  indirect) answer to a message written by me. Of course
994   which reflect this. Adaptive scoring can be a huge help  nobody with a sane mind would do this :-)
995   when reading high traffic groups. If you want to activate  
996   adaptive scoring say  The third alternative is adaptive scoring. This means Gnus
997    watches you and tries to find out what you find
998    interesting and what annoying and sets up rules
999    which reflect this. Adaptive scoring can be a huge help
1000    when reading high traffic groups. If you want to activate
1001    adaptive scoring say
1002    
1003  @example  @example
1004  (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring t)  (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring t)
1005  @end example  @end example
   
1006  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.10], [4.11], [4.9], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.10:  
   
  How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or  
  set other variables specific for some groups?  
   
   
 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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.11], [4.12], [4.10], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.11:  
   
  Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to  
  those?  
   
   
 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/Members/dzimmerm/HowTo%2C2002-07-25%2C1027619165012198456/view,my.gnus.org}  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.12], [4.13], [4.11], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
   
 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).  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.13], [4.14], [4.12], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.13:  
1007    
1008   I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer, how  in ~/.gnus.el.
  to change it? Perhaps even a three pane display?  
   
1009    
1010  Answer:  @node [4.10]
1011    @subsubheading Question 4.10
1012    
1013   You can control the windows configuration by calling the  How can I disable threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or
1014   function gnus-add-configuration. The syntax is a bit  set other variables specific for some groups?
  complicated but explained very well in the manual node  
  "Window Layout". Some popular examples:  
   
1015    
1016   Instead 25% summary 75% article buffer 35% summary and 65%  @subsubheading Answer
1017   article (the 1.0 for article means "take the remaining  
1018   space"):  While in group buffer move point over the group and hit
1019    @samp{G c}, this opens a buffer where you
1020    can set options for the group. At the bottom of the buffer
1021    you'll find an item that allows you to set variables
1022    locally for the group. To disable threading enter
1023    gnus-show-threads as name of variable and nil as
1024    value. Hit button done at the top of the buffer when
1025    you're ready.
1026    
1027    @node [4.11]
1028    @subsubheading Question 4.11
1029    
1030    Can I highlight messages written by me and follow-ups to
1031    those?
1032    
1033    @subsubheading Answer
1034    
1035    Stop those "Can I ..." questions, the answer is always yes
1036    in Gnus Country :-). It's a three step process: First we
1037    make faces (specifications of how summary-line shall look
1038    like) for those postings, then we'll give them some
1039    special score and finally we'll tell Gnus to use the new
1040    faces. You can find detailed instructions on how to do it on
1041    @uref{http://my.gnus.org/node/view/224, my.gnus.org}
1042    
1043    @node [4.12]
1044    @subsubheading Question 4.12
1045    
1046    The number of total messages in a group which Gnus
1047    displays in group buffer is by far to high, especially in
1048    mail groups. Is this a bug?
1049    
1050    @subsubheading Answer
1051    
1052    No, that's a matter of design of Gnus, fixing this would
1053    mean reimplementation of major parts of Gnus'
1054    back ends. Gnus thinks "highest-article-number -
1055    lowest-article-number = total-number-of-articles". This
1056    works OK for Usenet groups, but if you delete and move
1057    many messages in mail groups, this fails. To cure the
1058    symptom, enter the group via @samp{C-u RET}
1059    (this makes Gnus get all messages), then
1060    hit @samp{M P b} to mark all messages and
1061    then say @samp{B m name.of.group} to move
1062    all messages to the group they have been in before, they
1063    get new message numbers in this process and the count is
1064    right again (until you delete and move your mail to other
1065    groups again).
1066    
1067    @node [4.13]
1068    @subsubheading Question 4.13
1069    
1070    I don't like the layout of summary and article buffer, how
1071    to change it? Perhaps even a three pane display?
1072    
1073    @subsubheading Answer
1074    
1075    You can control the windows configuration by calling the
1076    function gnus-add-configuration. The syntax is a bit
1077    complicated but explained very well in the manual node
1078    "Window Layout". Some popular examples:
1079    
1080    Instead 25% summary 75% article buffer 35% summary and 65%
1081    article (the 1.0 for article means "take the remaining
1082    space"):
1083    
1084  @example  @example
1085  (gnus-add-configuration  (gnus-add-configuration
1086   '(article (vertical 1.0   '(article (vertical 1.0 (summary .35 point) (article 1.0))))
                      (summary .35 point)  
                      (article 1.0))))  
1087  @end example  @end example
1088    @noindent
1089    
1090   A three pane layout, Group buffer on the left, summary  A three pane layout, Group buffer on the left, summary
1091   buffer top-right, article buffer bottom-right:  buffer top-right, article buffer bottom-right:
   
1092    
1093  @example  @example
1094  (gnus-add-configuration  (gnus-add-configuration
# Line 1228  Answer: Line 1105  Answer:
1105                 (vertical 25                 (vertical 25
1106                           (group 1.0))                           (group 1.0))
1107                 (vertical 1.0                 (vertical 1.0
1108                           (summary 1.0 point)))))                                         (summary 1.0 point)))))
1109  @end example  @end example
1110    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.14], [4.15], [4.13], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.14:  
1111    
1112   I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to tweak it?  @node [4.14]
1113    @subsubheading Question 4.14
1114    
1115  Answer:  I don't like the way the Summary buffer looks, how to tweak it?
1116    
1117   You've got to play around with the variable  @subsubheading Answer
  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.  
   
1118    
1119   Since 5.10, Gnus offers you some very nice new specifiers,  You've got to play around with the variable
1120   e.g. %B which draws a thread-tree and %&user-date which  gnus-summary-line-format. It's value is a string of
1121   gives you a date where the details are dependent of the  symbols which stand for things like author, date, subject
1122   articles age. Here's an example which uses both:  etc. A list of the available specifiers can be found in the
1123    manual node "Summary Buffer Lines" and the often forgotten
1124    node "Formatting Variables" and it's sub-nodes. There
1125    you'll find useful things like positioning the cursor and
1126    tabulators which allow you a summary in table form, but
1127    sadly hard tabulators are broken in 5.8.8.
1128    
1129    Since 5.10, Gnus offers you some very nice new specifiers,
1130    e.g. %B which draws a thread-tree and %&user-date which
1131    gives you a date where the details are dependent of the
1132    articles age. Here's an example which uses both:
1133    
1134  @example  @example
1135  (setq gnus-summary-line-format  (setq gnus-summary-line-format ":%U%R %B %s %-60=|%4L |%-20,20f |%&user-date; \n")
       ":%U%R %B %s %-60=|%4L |%-20,20f |%&user-date; \n")  
1136  @end example  @end example
   
1137  @noindent  @noindent
  resulting in:  
   
1138    
1139  @smallexample  resulting in:
1140    
1141    @example
1142  :O     Re: [Richard Stallman] rfc2047.el          |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:06  :O     Re: [Richard Stallman] rfc2047.el          |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:06
1143  :O     Re: Revival of the ding-patches list       |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:12  :O     Re: Revival of the ding-patches list       |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:12
1144  :R  >  Re: Find correct list of articles for a gro|  25 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:16  :R  >  Re: Find correct list of articles for a gro|  25 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:16
# Line 1280  Answer: Line 1151  Answer:
1151  :R  >  Re: Gnus still doesn't count messages prope|  23 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:57  :R  >  Re: Gnus still doesn't count messages prope|  23 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt |Sat 23:57
1152  :O  \->  ...                                      |  18 |Kai Grossjohann      | 0:35  :O  \->  ...                                      |  18 |Kai Grossjohann      | 0:35
1153  :O    \->  ...                                    |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt | 0:56  :O    \->  ...                                    |  13 |Lars Magne Ingebrigt | 0:56
1154  @end smallexample  @end example
1155    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [4.15],  , [4.14], FAQ 4 - Reading messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 4.15:  
1156    
1157   How to split incoming mails in several groups?  @node [4.15]
1158    @subsubheading Question 4.15
1159    
1160  Answer:  How to split incoming mails in several groups?
1161    
1162   Gnus offers two possibilities for splitting mail, the easy  @subsubheading Answer
  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.  
   
1163    
1164   The value of nnmail-split-methods is a list, each element  Gnus offers two possibilities for splitting mail, the easy
1165   is a list which stands for a splitting rule. Each rule has  nnmail-split-methods and the more powerful Fancy Mail
1166   the form "group where matching articles should go to",  Splitting. I'll only talk about the first one, refer to
1167   "regular expression which has to be matched", the first  the manual, node "Fancy Mail Splitting" for the latter.
1168   rule which matches wins. The last rule must always be a  
1169   general rule (regular expression .*) which denotes where  The value of nnmail-split-methods is a list, each element
1170   articles should go which don't match any other rule. If  is a list which stands for a splitting rule. Each rule has
1171   the folder doesn't exist yet, it will be created as soon  the form "group where matching articles should go to",
1172   as an article lands there. By default the mail will be  "regular expression which has to be matched", the first
1173   send to all groups whose rules match. If you  rule which matches wins. The last rule must always be a
1174   don't want that (you probably don't want), say  general rule (regular expression .*) which denotes where
1175    articles should go which don't match any other rule. If
1176    the folder doesn't exist yet, it will be created as soon
1177    as an article lands there.  By default the mail will be
1178    send to all groups whose rules match. If you
1179    don't want that (you probably don't want), say
1180    
1181  @example  @example
1182  (setq nnmail-crosspost nil)  (setq nnmail-crosspost nil)
1183  @end example  @end example
   
1184  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus.  
   
1185    
1186   An example might be better than thousand words, so here's  in ~/.gnus.el.
1187   my nnmail-split-methods. Note that I send duplicates in a  
1188   special group and that the default group is spam, since I  An example might be better than thousand words, so here's
1189   filter all mails out which are from some list I'm  my nnmail-split-methods. Note that I send duplicates in a
1190   subscribed to or which are addressed directly to me  special group and that the default group is spam, since I
1191   before. Those rules kill about 80% of the Spam which  filter all mails out which are from some list I'm
1192   reaches me (Email addresses are changed to prevent spammers  subscribed to or which are addressed directly to me
1193   from using them):  before. Those rules kill about 80% of the Spam which
1194    reaches me (Email addresses are changed to prevent spammers
1195    from using them):
1196    
1197  @example  @example
1198  (setq nnmail-split-methods  (setq nnmail-split-methods
# Line 1336  Answer: Line 1201  Answer:
1201      ("Gnus-Tut" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@socha.bla.*")      ("Gnus-Tut" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@socha.bla.*")
1202      ("tcsh" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@mx.gw.bla.*")      ("tcsh" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@mx.gw.bla.*")
1203      ("BAfH" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@.*uni-muenchen.bla.*")      ("BAfH" "^\\(To:\\|CC:\\).*localpart@@.*uni-muenchen.bla.*")
1204      ("Hamster-src"      ("Hamster-src" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*hamster-sourcen@@yahoogroups.\\(de\\|com\\).*")
      "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*hamster-sourcen@@yahoogroups.\\(de\\|com\\).*")  
1205      ("Tagesschau" "^From: tagesschau <localpart@@www.tagesschau.bla>$")      ("Tagesschau" "^From: tagesschau <localpart@@www.tagesschau.bla>$")
1206      ("Replies" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@Frank-Schmitt.bla.*")      ("Replies" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@Frank-Schmitt.bla.*")
1207      ("EK"      ("EK" "^From:.*\\(localpart@@privateprovider.bla\\|localpart@@workplace.bla\\).*")
1208       "^From:.*\\(localpart@@privateprovider.bla\\|localpart@@workplace.bla\\).*")      ("Spam" "^Content-Type:.*\\(ks_c_5601-1987\\|EUC-KR\\|big5\\|iso-2022-jp\\).*")
1209      ("Spam"      ("Spam" "^Subject:.*\\(This really work\\|XINGA\\|ADV:\\|XXX\\|adult\\|sex\\).*")
1210       "^Content-Type:.*\\(ks_c_5601-1987\\|EUC-KR\\|big5\\|iso-2022-jp\\).*")      ("Spam" "^Subject:.*\\(\=\?ks_c_5601-1987\?\\|\=\?euc-kr\?\\|\=\?big5\?\\).*")
     ("Spam"  
      "^Subject:.*\\(This really work\\|XINGA\\|ADV:\\|XXX\\|adult\\|sex\\).*")  
     ("Spam"  
      "^Subject:.*\\(\=\?ks_c_5601-1987\?\\|\=\?euc-kr\?\\|\=\?big5\?\\).*")  
1211      ("Spam" "^X-Mailer:\\(.*BulkMailer.*\\|.*MIME::Lite.*\\|\\)")      ("Spam" "^X-Mailer:\\(.*BulkMailer.*\\|.*MIME::Lite.*\\|\\)")
1212      ("Spam"      ("Spam" "^X-Mailer:\\(.*CyberCreek Avalanche\\|.*http\:\/\/GetResponse\.com\\)")
1213       "^X-Mailer:\\(.*CyberCreek Avalanche\\|.*http\:\/\/GetResponse\.com\\)")      ("Spam" "^From:.*\\(verizon\.net\\|prontomail\.com\\|money\\|ConsumerDirect\\).*")
     ("Spam"  
      "^From:.*\\(verizon\.net\\|prontomail\.com\\|money\\|ConsumerDirect\\).*")  
1214      ("Spam" "^Delivered-To: GMX delivery to spamtrap@@gmx.bla$")      ("Spam" "^Delivered-To: GMX delivery to spamtrap@@gmx.bla$")
1215      ("Spam" "^Received: from link2buy.com")      ("Spam" "^Received: from link2buy.com")
1216      ("Spam" "^CC: .*azzrael@@t-online.bla")      ("Spam" "^CC: .*azzrael@@t-online.bla")
1217      ("Spam" "^X-Mailer-Version: 1.50 BETA")      ("Spam" "^X-Mailer-Version: 1.50 BETA")
1218      ("Uni" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@uni-koblenz.bla.*")      ("Uni" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*localpart@@uni-koblenz.bla.*")
1219      ("Inbox"      ("Inbox" "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*\\(my\ name\\|address@@one.bla\\|adress@@two.bla\\)")
      "^\\(CC:\\|To:\\).*\\(my\ name\\|address@@one.bla\\|adress@@two.bla\\)")  
1220      ("Spam" "")))      ("Spam" "")))
1221  @end example  @end example
1222    @noindent
1223    
1224  @ifnottex  @node FAQ 5 - Composing messages
 @node FAQ 5 - Composing messages, FAQ 6 - Old messages, FAQ 4 - Reading messages, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @end ifnottex  
1225  @subsection Composing messages  @subsection Composing messages
1226    
1227  @menu  @menu
1228  * [5.1]::   What are the basic commands I need to know for sending mail and  * [5.1]::     What are the basic commands I need to know for sending
1229              postings?                mail and postings?
1230  * [5.2]::   How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages?  * [5.2]::     How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages?
1231  * [5.3]::   How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To, signature...?  * [5.3]::     How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To,
1232  * [5.4]::   Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on the                signature...?
1233              group I post too?  * [5.4]::     Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on
1234  * [5.5]::   Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly spell-checking?                the group I post too?
1235  * [5.6]::   Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting to?  * [5.5]::     Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly
1236  * [5.7]::   Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember all                spell-checking?
1237              those email addresses?  * [5.6]::     Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting
1238  * [5.8]::   Sometimes I see little images at the top of article buffer.                to?
1239              What's that and how can I send one with my postings, too?  * [5.7]::     Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember
1240  * [5.9]::   Sometimes I accidentally hit r instead of f in newsgroups.                all those email addresses?
1241              Can Gnus warn me, when I'm replying by mail in newsgroups?  * [5.8]::     Sometimes I see little images at the top of article
1242  * [5.10]::  How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header?                buffer. What's that and how can I send one with my postings, too?
1243  * [5.11]::  I want Gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and news,  * [5.9]::     Sometimes I accidentally hit r instead of f in newsgroups.
1244              how to do it?                Can Gnus warn me, when I'm replying by mail in newsgroups?
1245  * [5.12]::  People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct,  * [5.10]::    How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header?
1246              why aren't they and how to fix it?  * [5.11]::    I want Gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and
1247                  news, how to do it?
1248    * [5.12]::    People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct, why aren't
1249                  they and how to fix it?
1250  @end menu  @end menu
1251    
1252  @ifnottex  @node [5.1]
1253  @node [5.1], [5.2], FAQ 5 - Composing messages, FAQ 5 - Composing messages  @subsubheading Question 5.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.1:  
1254    
1255   What are the basic commands I need to know for sending mail and postings?  What are the basic commands I need to know for sending mail and postings?
   
1256    
1257  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
1258    
1259   To start composing a new mail hit @samp{m}  To start composing a new mail hit @samp{m}
1260   either in Group or Summary buffer, for a posting, it's  either in Group or Summary buffer, for a posting, it's
1261   either @samp{a} in Group buffer and  either @samp{a} in Group buffer and
1262   filling the Newsgroups header manually  filling the Newsgroups header manually
1263   or @samp{a} in the Summary buffer of the  or @samp{a} in the Summary buffer of the
1264   group where the posting shall be send to. Replying by mail  group where the posting shall be send to. Replying by mail
1265   is  is
1266   @samp{r} if you don't want to cite the  @samp{r} if you don't want to cite the
1267   author, or import the cited text manually and  author, or import the cited text manually and
1268   @samp{R} to cite the text of the original  @samp{R} to cite the text of the original
1269   message. For a follow up to a newsgroup, it's  message. For a follow up to a newsgroup, it's
1270   @samp{f} and @samp{F}  @samp{f} and @samp{F}
1271   (analog to @samp{r} and  (analogously to @samp{r} and
1272   @samp{R}).  @samp{R}).
1273    
1274    Enter new headers above the line saying "--text follows
1275    this line--", enter the text below the line. When ready
1276    hit @samp{C-c C-c}, to send the message,
1277    if you want to finish it later hit @samp{C-c
1278    C-d} to save it in the drafts group, where you
1279    can start editing it again by saying @samp{D
1280    e}.
1281    
1282   Enter new headers above the line saying "--text follows  @node [5.2]
1283   this line--", enter the text below the line. When ready  @subsubheading Question 5.2
  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}.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.2], [5.3], [5.1], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.2:  
1284    
1285   How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages?  How to enable automatic word-wrap when composing messages?
   
1286    
1287  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
1288    
1289   Say  Say
   
1290    
1291  @example  @example
1292  (add-hook 'message-mode-hook  (add-hook 'message-mode-hook
1293        (lambda ()            (lambda ()
1294             (setq fill-column 72)              (setq fill-column 72)
1295             (turn-on-auto-fill)))              (turn-on-auto-fill)))
1296  @end example  @end example
   
1297  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus. You can reformat a paragraph by hitting  
  @samp{M-q} (as usual)  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.3], [5.4], [5.2], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.3:  
1298    
1299   How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To, signature...?  in ~/.gnus.el. You can reformat a paragraph by hitting
1300    @samp{M-q} (as usual)
1301    
1302  Answer:  @node [5.3]
1303    @subsubheading Question 5.3
1304    
1305   There are other ways, but you should use posting styles  How to set stuff like From, Organization, Reply-To, signature...?
1306   for this. (See below why).  
1307   This example should make the syntax clear:  @subsubheading Answer
1308    
1309    There are other ways, but you should use posting styles
1310    for this. (See below why).
1311    This example should make the syntax clear:
1312    
1313  @example  @example
1314  (setq gnus-posting-styles  (setq gnus-posting-styles
# Line 1474  Answer: Line 1320  Answer:
1320       ("X-SampleHeader" "foobar")       ("X-SampleHeader" "foobar")
1321       (eval (setq some-variable "Foo bar")))))       (eval (setq some-variable "Foo bar")))))
1322  @end example  @end example
   
1323  @noindent  @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.4], [5.5], [5.3], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.4:  
1324    
1325   Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on the group I post too?  The ".*" means that this settings are the default ones
1326    (see below), valid values for the first element of the
1327    following lists are signature, signature-file,
1328  Answer:  organization, address, name or body.  The attribute name
1329    can also be a string.  In that case, this will be used as
1330   That's the strength of posting styles. Before, we used ".*"  a header name, and the value will be inserted in the
1331   to set the default for all groups. You can use a regexp  headers of the article; if the value is `nil', the header
1332   like "^gmane" and the following settings are only applied  name will be removed. You can also say (eval (foo bar)),
1333   to postings you send to the gmane hierarchy, use  then the function foo will be evaluated with argument bar
1334   ".*binaries" instead and they will be applied to postings  and the result will be thrown away.
1335   send to groups containing the string binaries in their  
1336   name etc.  @node [5.4]
1337    @subsubheading Question 5.4
1338    
1339   You can instead of specifying a regexp specify a function  Can I set things like From, Signature etc group based on the group I post too?
1340   which is evaluated, only if it returns true, the  
1341   corresponding settings take effect. Two interesting  @subsubheading Answer
1342   candidates for this are message-news-p which returns t if  
1343   the current Group is a newsgroup and the corresponding  That's the strength of posting styles. Before, we used ".*"
1344   message-mail-p.  to set the default for all groups. You can use a regexp
1345    like "^gmane" and the following settings are only applied
1346    to postings you send to the gmane hierarchy, use
1347   Note that all forms that match are applied, that means in  ".*binaries" instead and they will be applied to postings
1348   the example below, when I post to  send to groups containing the string binaries in their
1349   gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general, the settings under  name etc.
1350   ".*" are applied and the settings under message-news-p and  
1351   those under "^gmane" and those under  You can instead of specifying a regexp specify a function
1352   "^gmane\\.mail\\.spam\\.spamassassin\\.general$". Because  which is evaluated, only if it returns true, the
1353   of this put general settings at the top and specific ones  corresponding settings take effect. Two interesting
1354   at the bottom.  candidates for this are message-news-p which returns t if
1355    the current Group is a newsgroup and the corresponding
1356    message-mail-p.
1357    
1358    Note that all forms that match are applied, that means in
1359    the example below, when I post to
1360    gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general, the settings under
1361    ".*" are applied and the settings under message-news-p and
1362    those under "^gmane" and those under
1363    "^gmane\\.mail\\.spam\\.spamassassin\\.general$". Because
1364    of this put general settings at the top and specific ones
1365    at the bottom.
1366    
1367  @example  @example
1368  (setq gnus-posting-styles  (setq gnus-posting-styles
1369    '((".*"  ;;default    '((".*"  ;;default
1370       (name "Frank Schmitt")       (name "Frank Schmitt")
1371       (organization "Hamme net, kren mer och nimmi")       (organization "Hamme net, kren mer och nimmi")
1372       (signature-file "~/.signature"))       (signature-file "~/.signature")    )
1373      ((message-news-p)  ;;Usenet news?      ((message-news-p)  ;;Usenet news?
1374       (address "mySpamTrap@@Frank-Schmitt.bla")       (address "mySpamTrap@@Frank-Schmitt.bla")
1375       ("Reply-To" "hereRealRepliesOnlyPlease@@Frank-Schmitt.bla"))       ("Reply-To" "hereRealRepliesOnlyPlease@@Frank-Schmitt.bla")    )
1376      ((message-mail-p)  ;;mail?      ((message-mail-p)  ;;mail?
1377       (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.bla"))       (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.bla")    )
1378      ("^gmane" ;;this is mail, too in fact      ("^gmane" ;;this is mail, too in fact
1379       (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.net")       (address "usedForMails@@Frank-Schmitt.net")
1380       ("Reply-To" nil))       ("Reply-To" nil)    )
1381      ("^gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general$"      ("^gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general$"
1382       (eval (setq mail-envelope-from "Azzrael@@rz-online.de"))       (eval (setq mail-envelope-from "Azzrael@@rz-online.de"))
1383       (address "Azzrael@@rz-online.de"))))       (address "Azzrael@@rz-online.de")) ))
1384  @end example  @end example
1385    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.5], [5.6], [5.4], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.5:  
1386    
1387   Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly spell-checking?  @node [5.5]
1388    @subsubheading Question 5.5
1389    
1390  Answer:  Is there a spell-checker? Perhaps even on-the-fly spell-checking?
1391    
1392  You can use ispell.el to spell-check stuff in Emacs. So the first  @subsubheading Answer
 thing to do is to make sure that you've got either  
 @itemize @bullet  
 @item  
 @uref{http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/fmg-members/geoff/ispell.html,ispell}  
 or  
 @item  
 @uref{http://aspell.sourceforge.net/,aspell}  
 @end itemize  
 @noindent  
 installed and in your Path.  
1393    
1394  Then you need  You can use ispell.el to spell-check stuff in Emacs. So the
1395  @uref{http://www.kdstevens.com/~stevens/ispell-page.html,ispell.el,ispell.el}  first thing to do is to make sure that you've got either
1396  and for on-the-fly spell-checking  @uref{http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/fmg-members/geoff/ispell.html, ispell}
1397  @uref{http://www-sop.inria.fr/mimosa/personnel/Manuel.Serrano/flyspell/flyspell.html,flyspell.el,flyspell.el}.  or @uref{http://aspell.sourceforge.net/, aspell}
1398  Ispell.el is shipped with Gnus Emacs and available through the Emacs  installed and in your Path. Then you need
1399  package system, flyspell.el is shipped with Emacs and part of XEmacs  @uref{http://www.kdstevens.com/~stevens/ispell-page.html, ispell.el}
1400  text-modes package which is available through the package system, so  and for on-the-fly spell-checking
1401  there should be no need to install them manually.  @uref{http://www-sop.inria.fr/mimosa/personnel/Manuel.Serrano/flyspell/flyspell.html, flyspell.el}.
1402    Ispell.el is shipped with Emacs and available through the XEmacs package system,
1403    flyspell.el is shipped with Emacs and part of XEmacs text-modes package which is
1404    available through the package system, so there should be no need to install them
1405    manually.
1406    
1407   Ispell.el assumes you use ispell, if you choose aspell say  Ispell.el assumes you use ispell, if you choose aspell say
   
1408    
1409  @example  @example
1410  (setq ispell-program-name "aspell")  (setq ispell-program-name "aspell")
1411  @end example  @end example
   
   
1412  @noindent  @noindent
  in your Emacs configuration file.  
1413    
1414    in your Emacs configuration file.
1415    
1416   If you want your outgoing messages to be spell-checked, say  If you want your outgoing messages to be spell-checked, say
   
1417    
1418  @example  @example
1419  (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)  (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1420  @end example  @end example
   
1421  @noindent  @noindent
1422   In your ~/.gnus, if you prefer on-the-fly spell-checking say  
1423    In your ~/.gnus.el, if you prefer on-the-fly spell-checking say
1424    
1425  @example  @example
1426  (add-hook 'message-mode-hook (lambda () (flyspell-mode 1)))  (add-hook 'message-mode-hook (lambda () (flyspell-mode 1)))
1427  @end example  @end example
1428    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.6], [5.7], [5.5], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.6:  
1429    
1430   Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting to?  @node [5.6]
1431    @subsubheading Question 5.6
1432    
1433  Answer:  Can I set the dictionary based on the group I'm posting to?
1434    
1435   Yes, say something like  @subsubheading Answer
1436    
1437    Yes, say something like
1438    
1439  @example  @example
1440  (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook  (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
# Line 1625  Answer: Line 1446  Answer:
1446               (t               (t
1447                (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))                (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
1448  @end example  @end example
   
   
1449  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus. Change "^de\\." and "deutsch8" to something  
  that suits your needs.  
1450    
1451  @ifnottex  in ~/.gnus.el. Change "^de\\." and "deutsch8" to something
1452  @node [5.7], [5.8], [5.6], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  that suits your needs.
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.7:  
1453    
1454   Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember  @node [5.7]
1455   all those email addresses?  @subsubheading Question 5.7
   
1456    
1457  Answer:  Is there some kind of address-book, so I needn't remember
1458    all those email addresses?
1459    
1460   There's an very basic solution for this, mail aliases.  @subsubheading Answer
1461   You can store your mail addresses in a ~/.mailrc file using a simple  
1462   alias syntax:  There's an very basic solution for this, mail aliases.
1463    You can store your mail addresses in a ~/.mailrc file using a simple
1464    alias syntax:
1465    
1466  @example  @example
1467  alias al        "Al <al@@english-heritage.bla>"  alias al        "Al <al@@english-heritage.bla>"
1468  @end example  @end example
   
1469  @noindent  @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.  
   
1470    
1471   However, what you really want is the Insidious Big Brother  Then typing your alias (followed by a space or punctuation
1472   Database bbdb. Get it through the XEmacs package system or from  character) on a To: or Cc: line in the message buffer will
1473   @uref{http://bbdb.sourceforge.net/,bbdb's homepage}.  cause Gnus to insert the full address for you. See the
1474   Now place the following in ~/.gnus, to activate bbdb for Gnus:  node "Mail Aliases" in Message (not Gnus) manual for
1475    details.
1476    
1477    However, what you really want is the Insidious Big Brother
1478    Database bbdb. Get it through the XEmacs package system or from
1479    @uref{http://bbdb.sourceforge.net/, bbdb's homepage}.
1480    Now place the following in ~/.gnus.el, to activate bbdb for Gnus:
1481    
1482  @example  @example
1483  (require 'bbdb)  (require 'bbdb)
1484  (bbdb-initialize 'gnus 'message)  (bbdb-initialize 'gnus 'message)
1485  @end example  @end example
   
1486  @noindent  @noindent
1487   Now you probably want some general bbdb configuration,  
1488   place them in ~/.emacs:  Now you probably want some general bbdb configuration,
1489    place them in ~/.emacs:
1490    
1491  @example  @example
1492  (require 'bbdb)  (require 'bbdb)
# Line 1689  english-heritage.bla>" Line 1502  english-heritage.bla>"
1502  ;;No popup-buffers  ;;No popup-buffers
1503  (setq bbdb-use-pop-up nil)  (setq bbdb-use-pop-up nil)
1504  @end example  @end example
   
1505  @noindent  @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.8], [5.9], [5.7], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
1506    
1507  Answer:  Now you should be ready to go. Say @samp{M-x bbdb RET
1508    RET} to open a bbdb buffer showing all
1509   Those images are called X-Faces. They are 48*48 pixel b/w  entries. Say @samp{c} to create a new
1510   pictures, encoded in a header line. If you want to include  entry, @samp{b} to search your BBDB and
1511   one in your posts, you've got to convert some image to a  @samp{C-o} to add a new field to an
1512   X-Face. So fire up some image manipulation program (say  entry. If you want to add a sender to the BBDB you can
1513   Gimp), open the image you want to include, cut out the  also just hit `:' on the posting in the summary buffer and
1514   relevant part, reduce color depth to 1 bit, resize to  you are done. When you now compose a new mail,
1515   48*48 and save as bitmap. Now you should get the compface  hit @samp{TAB} to cycle through know
1516   package from  recipients.
1517   @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/,this site}.  
1518   and create the actual X-face by saying  @node [5.8]
1519    @subsubheading Question 5.8
1520    
1521  @example  Sometimes I see little images at the top of article
1522  cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon |compface > file.face  buffer. What's that and how can I send one with my
1523  cat ./file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g' | sed 's/\"/\\\"/g' > ./file.face.quoted  postings, too?
1524    
1525    @subsubheading Answer
1526    
1527    Those images are called X-Faces. They are 48*48 pixel b/w
1528    pictures, encoded in a header line. If you want to include
1529    one in your posts, you've got to convert some image to a
1530    X-Face. So fire up some image manipulation program (say
1531    Gimp), open the image you want to include, cut out the
1532    relevant part, reduce color depth to 1 bit, resize to
1533    48*48 and save as bitmap. Now you should get the compface
1534    package from
1535    @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu:/pub/faces/, this site}.
1536    and create the actual X-face by saying
1537    
1538    @example
1539    cat file.xbm | xbm2ikon | compface > file.face
1540    cat file.face | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g;s/\"/\\\"/g;' > file.face.quoted
1541  @end example  @end example
   
1542  @noindent  @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/}.  
1543    
1544  Now you only have to tell Gnus to include the X-face in your postings  If you can't use compface, there's an online X-face converter at
1545  by saying  @uref{http://www.dairiki.org/xface/}.
1546    If you use MS Windows, you could also use the WinFace program from
1547    @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~walterln/winface/}.
1548    Now you only have to tell Gnus to include the X-face in your postings by saying
1549    
1550  @example  @example
1551  (setq message-default-headers  (setq message-default-headers
# Line 1747  by saying Line 1554  by saying
1554            (insert-file-contents "~/.xemacs/xface")            (insert-file-contents "~/.xemacs/xface")
1555            (buffer-string)))            (buffer-string)))
1556  @end example  @end example
   
1557  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.9], [5.10], [5.8], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
1558    
1559  Answer:  in ~/.gnus.el.
1560    
1561   Put this in ~/.gnus:  @node [5.9]
1562    @subsubheading Question 5.9
1563    
1564    Sometimes I accidentally hit r instead of f in
1565    newsgroups. Can Gnus warn me, when I'm replying by mail in
1566    newsgroups?
1567    
1568    @subsubheading Answer
1569    
1570    Put this in ~/.gnus.el:
1571    
1572  @example  @example
1573  (setq gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news t)  (setq gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news t)
1574  @end example  @end example
   
1575  @noindent  @noindent
1576   if you already use Gnus 5.10, if you still use 5.8.8 or  
1577   5.9 try this instead:  if you already use Gnus 5.10, if you still use 5.8.8 or
1578    5.9 try this instead:
1579    
1580  @example  @example
1581  (eval-after-load "gnus-msg"  (eval-after-load "gnus-msg"
# Line 1785  Answer: Line 1587  Answer:
1587                   (y-or-n-p "Really reply by mail to article author? "))                   (y-or-n-p "Really reply by mail to article author? "))
1588           ad-do-it))))           ad-do-it))))
1589  @end example  @end example
1590    @noindent
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.10], [5.11], [5.9], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.10:  
1591    
1592   How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header?  @node [5.10]
1593    @subsubheading Question 5.10
1594    
1595  Answer:  How to tell Gnus not to generate a sender header?
1596    
1597   Since 5.10 Gnus doesn't generate a sender header by  @subsubheading Answer
1598   default. For older Gnus' try this in ~/.gnus:  
1599    Since 5.10 Gnus doesn't generate a sender header by
1600    default. For older Gnus' try this in ~/.gnus.el:
1601    
1602  @example  @example
1603  (eval-after-load "message"  (eval-after-load "message"
1604        '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled)))        '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled)))
1605  @end example  @end example
1606    @noindent
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.11], [5.12], [5.10], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.11:  
1607    
1608   I want gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and  @node [5.11]
1609   news, how to do it?  @subsubheading Question 5.11
   
1610    
1611  Answer:  I want Gnus to locally store copies of my send mail and
1612    news, how to do it?
1613    
1614   You must set the variable gnus-message-archive-group to do  @subsubheading Answer
1615   this. You can set it to a string giving the name of the  
1616   group where the copies shall go or like in the example  You must set the variable gnus-message-archive-group to do
1617   below use a function which is evaluated and which returns  this. You can set it to a string giving the name of the
1618   the group to use.  group where the copies shall go or like in the example
1619    below use a function which is evaluated and which returns
1620    the group to use.
1621    
1622  @example  @example
1623  (setq gnus-message-archive-group  (setq gnus-message-archive-group
# Line 1830  Answer: Line 1625  Answer:
1625                "nnml:Send-News"                "nnml:Send-News"
1626              "nnml:Send-Mail")))              "nnml:Send-Mail")))
1627  @end example  @end example
1628    @noindent
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [5.12],  , [5.11], FAQ 5 - Composing messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 5.12:  
1629    
1630   People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct, why  @node [5.12]
1631   aren't they and how to fix it?  @subsubheading Question 5.12
   
1632    
1633  Answer:  People tell me my Message-IDs are not correct, why
1634    aren't they and how to fix it?
1635    
1636    @subsubheading Answer
1637    
1638    The message-ID is an unique identifier for messages you
1639    send. To make it unique, Gnus need to know which machine
1640    name to put after the "@@". If the name of the machine
1641    where Gnus is running isn't suitable (it probably isn't
1642    at most private machines) you can tell Gnus what to use
1643    by saying:
1644    
  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  
1645  @example  @example
1646  (setq message-user-fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld")  (setq message-user-fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld")
1647  @end example  @end example
1648  @noindent  @noindent
1649   in ~/.gnus.  If you use Gnus 5.9 or ealier, you can use this  
1650  instead (works for newer versions a well):  in ~/.gnus.el.  If you use Gnus 5.9 or ealier, you can use this
1651    instead (works for newer versions a well):
1652    
1653  @example  @example
1654  (eval-after-load "message"  (eval-after-load "message"
1655    '(let ((fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld"));; <-- Edit this!    '(let ((fqdn "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld"));; <-- Edit this!
# Line 1865  instead (works for newer versions a well Line 1660  instead (works for newer versions a well
1660           "Return user's fully qualified domain name."           "Return user's fully qualified domain name."
1661           fqdn))))           fqdn))))
1662  @end example  @end example
1663    @noindent
1664    
1665   If you have no idea what to insert for  If you have no idea what to insert for
1666   "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld", you've got several  "yourmachine.yourdomain.tld", you've got several
1667   choices. You can either ask your provider if he allows  choices. You can either ask your provider if he allows
1668   you to use something like  you to use something like
1669   yourUserName.userfqdn.provider.net, or you can use  yourUserName.userfqdn.provider.net, or you can use
1670   somethingUnique.yourdomain.tld if you own the domain  somethingUnique.yourdomain.tld if you own the domain
1671   yourdomain.tld, or you can register at a service which  yourdomain.tld, or you can register at a service which
1672   gives private users a FQDN for free, e.g.  gives private users a FQDN for free, e.g.  
1673   @uref{http://www.stura.tu-freiberg.de/~dlx/addfqdn.html}.  @uref{http://www.stura.tu-freiberg.de/~dlx/addfqdn.html}.
1674   (Sorry but this website is in German, if you know of an  (Sorry but this website is in German, if you know of an
1675   English one offering the same, drop me a note).  English one offering the same, drop me a note).
   
1676    
1677   Finally you can tell Gnus not to generate a Message-ID  Finally you can tell Gnus not to generate a Message-ID
1678   for News at all (and letting the server do the job) by saying  for News at all (and letting the server do the job) by saying
   
1679    
1680  @example  @example
1681  (setq message-required-news-headers  (setq message-required-news-headers
1682    (remove' Message-ID message-required-news-headers))    (remove' Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1683  @end example  @end example
   
1684  @noindent  @noindent
1685   you can also tell Gnus not to generate Message-IDs for mail by saying  
1686    you can also tell Gnus not to generate Message-IDs for mail by saying
1687    
1688  @example  @example
1689  (setq message-required-mail-headers  (setq message-required-mail-headers
1690    (remove' Message-ID message-required-mail-headers))    (remove' Message-ID message-required-mail-headers))
1691  @end example  @end example
   
1692  @noindent  @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.  
   
1693    
1694  @ifnottex  , however some mail servers don't generate proper
1695  @node FAQ 6 - Old messages, FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment, FAQ 5 - Composing messages, Frequently Asked Questions  Message-IDs, too, so test if your Mail Server behaves
1696  @end ifnottex  correctly by sending yourself a Mail and looking at the Message-ID.
1697    
1698    @node FAQ 6 - Old messages
1699  @subsection Old messages  @subsection Old messages
1700    
1701  @menu  @menu
1702  * [6.1]::   How to import my old mail into Gnus?  * [6.1]::    How to import my old mail into Gnus?
1703  * [6.2]::   How to archive interesting messages?  * [6.2]::    How to archive interesting messages?
1704  * [6.3]::   How to search for a specific message?  * [6.3]::    How to search for a specific message?
1705  * [6.4]::   How to get rid of old unwanted mail?  * [6.4]::    How to get rid of old unwanted mail?
1706  * [6.5]::   I want that all read messages are expired (at least in some  * [6.5]::    I want that all read messages are expired (at least in some
1707              groups). How to do it?               groups). How to do it?
1708  * [6.6]::   I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them  * [6.6]::    I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them
1709              to another group.               to another group.
1710  @end menu  @end menu
1711    
1712  @ifnottex  @node [6.1]
1713  @node [6.1], [6.2], FAQ 6 - Old messages, FAQ 6 - Old messages  @subsubheading Question 6.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 6.1:  
1714    
1715   How to import my old mail into Gnus?  How to import my old mail into Gnus?
   
1716    
1717  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
1718    
1719   The easiest way is to tell your old mail program to  The easiest way is to tell your old mail program to
1720   export the messages in mbox format. Most Unix mailers  export the messages in mbox format. Most Unix mailers
1721   are able to do this, if you come from the MS Windows  are able to do this, if you come from the MS Windows
1722   world, you may find tools at  world, you may find tools at
1723   @uref{http://mbx2mbox.sourceforge.net/}.  @uref{http://mbx2mbox.sourceforge.net/}.
1724    
1725    Now you've got to import this mbox file into Gnus. To do
1726   Now you've got to import this mbox file into Gnus. To do  this, create a nndoc group based on the mbox file by
1727   this, create a nndoc group based on the mbox file by  saying @samp{G f /path/file.mbox RET} in
1728   saying @samp{G f /path/file.mbox RET} in  Group buffer. You now have read-only access to your
1729   Group buffer. You now have read-only access to your  mail. If you want to import the messages to your normal
1730   mail. If you want to import the messages to your normal  Gnus mail groups hierarchy, enter the nndoc group you've
1731   Gnus mail groups hierarchy, enter the nndoc group you've  just created by saying @samp{C-u RET}
1732   just created by saying @samp{C-u RET}  (thus making sure all messages are retrieved), mark all
1733   (thus making sure all messages are retrieved), mark all  messages by saying @samp{M P b} and
1734   messages by saying @samp{M P b} and  either copy them to the desired group by saying
1735   either copy them to the desired group by saying  @samp{B c name.of.group RET} or send them
1736   @samp{B c name.of.group RET} or send them  through nnmail-split-methods (respool them) by saying
1737   through nnmail-split-methods (respool them) by saying  @samp{B r}.
1738   @samp{B r}.  
1739    @node [6.2]
1740  @ifnottex  @subsubheading Question 6.2
1741  @node [6.2], [6.3], [6.1], FAQ 6 - Old messages  
1742  @end ifnottex  How to archive interesting messages?
1743  @subsubheading Question 6.2:  
1744    @subsubheading Answer
1745   How to archive interesting messages?  
1746    If you stumble across an interesting message, say in
1747    gnu.emacs.gnus and want to archive it there are several
1748  Answer:  solutions. The first and easiest is to save it to a file
1749    by saying @samp{O f}. However, wouldn't
1750   If you stumble across an interesting message, say in  it be much more convenient to have more direct access to
1751   gnu.emacs.gnus and want to archive it there are several  the archived message from Gnus? If you say yes, put this
1752   solutions. The first and easiest is to save it to a file  snippet by Frank Haun <pille3003@@fhaun.de> in
1753   by saying @samp{O f}. However, wouldn't  ~/.gnus.el:
  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:  
   
1754    
1755  @example  @example
1756  (defun my-archive-article (&optional n)  (defun my-archive-article (&optional n)
# Line 1987  more then one article." Line 1769  more then one article."
1769              (replace-regexp-in-string "^.*:" "" gnus-newsgroup-name)))))              (replace-regexp-in-string "^.*:" "" gnus-newsgroup-name)))))
1770      (gnus-summary-copy-article n archive-name)))      (gnus-summary-copy-article n archive-name)))
1771  @end example  @end example
   
1772  @noindent  @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)  
   
1773    
1774   Of course you can also make sure the cache is enabled by saying  You can now say @samp{M-x
1775    my-archive-article} in summary buffer to
1776    archive the article under the cursor in a nnml
1777    group. (Change nnml to your preferred back end)
1778    
1779    Of course you can also make sure the cache is enabled by saying
1780    
1781  @example  @example
1782  (setq gnus-use-cache t)  (setq gnus-use-cache t)
1783  @end example  @end example
   
1784  @noindent  @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [6.3], [6.4], [6.2], FAQ 6 - Old messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 6.3:  
   
  How to search for a specific message?  
   
   
 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 the contrib directory of the Gnus  
  distribution or  
  @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/~checkout~/gnus/contrib/nnir.el?rev=HEAD&content-type=text/plain}  
  Instructions on how to use it are at the top of the file.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [6.4], [6.5], [6.3], FAQ 6 - Old messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 6.4:  
   
  How to get rid of old unwanted mail?  
   
   
 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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [6.5], [6.6], [6.4], FAQ 6 - Old messages  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 6.5:  
   
  I want that all read messages are expired (at least in  
  some groups). How to do it?  
   
   
 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.  
   
1785    
1786   If you want a message to be excluded from expiration in  then you only have to set either the tick or the dormant
1787   a group where total or auto expire is active, set either  mark for articles you want to keep, setting the read
1788   tick (hit @samp{u}) or dormant mark (hit  mark will remove them from cache.
1789   @samp{u}), when you use auto-expire, you  
1790   can also set the read mark (hit  @node [6.3]
1791   @samp{d}).  @subsubheading Question 6.3
1792    
1793  @ifnottex  How to search for a specific message?
1794  @node [6.6],  , [6.5], FAQ 6 - Old messages  
1795  @end ifnottex  @subsubheading Answer
1796  @subsubheading Question 6.6:  
1797    There are several ways for this, too. For a posting from
1798    a Usenet group the easiest solution is probably to ask
1799    @uref{http://groups.google.com, groups.google.com},
1800    if you found the posting there, tell Google to display
1801    the raw message, look for the message-id, and say
1802    @samp{M-^ the@@message.id RET} in a
1803    summary buffer.
1804    Since Gnus 5.10 there's also a Gnus interface for
1805    groups.google.com which you can call with
1806    @samp{G W}) in group buffer.
1807    
1808    Another idea which works for both mail and news groups
1809    is to enter the group where the message you are
1810    searching is and use the standard Emacs search
1811    @samp{C-s}, it's smart enough to look at
1812    articles in collapsed threads, too. If you want to
1813    search bodies, too try @samp{M-s}
1814    instead. Further on there are the
1815    gnus-summary-limit-to-foo functions, which can help you,
1816    too.
1817    
1818    Of course you can also use grep to search through your
1819    local mail, but this is both slow for big archives and
1820    inconvenient since you are not displaying the found mail
1821    in Gnus. Here comes nnir into action. Nnir is a front end
1822    to search engines like swish-e or swish++ and
1823    others. You index your mail with one of those search
1824    engines and with the help of nnir you can search trough
1825    the indexed mail and generate a temporary group with all
1826    messages which met your search criteria. If this sound
1827    cool to you get nnir.el from
1828    @uref{ftp://ls6-ftp.cs.uni-dortmund.de/pub/src/emacs/}
1829    or @uref{ftp://ftp.is.informatik.uni-duisburg.de/pub/src/emacs/}.
1830    Instructions on how to use it are at the top of the file.
1831    
1832    @node [6.4]
1833    @subsubheading Question 6.4
1834    
1835    How to get rid of old unwanted mail?
1836    
1837    @subsubheading Answer
1838    
1839    You can of course just mark the mail you don't need
1840    anymore by saying @samp{#} with point
1841    over the mail and then say @samp{B DEL}
1842    to get rid of them forever. You could also instead of
1843    actually deleting them, send them to a junk-group by
1844    saying @samp{B m nnml:trash-bin} which
1845    you clear from time to time, but both are not the intended
1846    way in Gnus.
1847    
1848    In Gnus, we let mail expire like news expires on a news
1849    server. That means you tell Gnus the message is
1850    expirable (you tell Gnus "I don't need this mail
1851    anymore") by saying @samp{E} with point
1852    over the mail in summary buffer. Now when you leave the
1853    group, Gnus looks at all messages which you marked as
1854    expirable before and if they are old enough (default is
1855    older than a week) they are deleted.
1856    
1857    @node [6.5]
1858    @subsubheading Question 6.5
1859    
1860    I want that all read messages are expired (at least in
1861    some groups). How to do it?
1862    
1863    @subsubheading Answer
1864    
1865    If you want all read messages to be expired (e.g. in
1866    mailing lists where there's an online archive), you've
1867    got two choices: auto-expire and
1868    total-expire. Auto-expire means, that every article
1869    which has no marks set and is selected for reading is
1870    marked as expirable, Gnus hits @samp{E}
1871    for you every time you read a message. Total-expire
1872    follows a slightly different approach, here all article
1873    where the read mark is set are expirable.
1874    
1875    To activate auto-expire, include auto-expire in the
1876    Group parameters for the group. (Hit @samp{G
1877    c} in summary buffer with point over the
1878    group to change group parameters). For total-expire add
1879    total-expire to the group-parameters.
1880    
1881    Which method you choose is merely a matter of taste:
1882    Auto-expire is faster, but it doesn't play together with
1883    Adaptive Scoring, so if you want to use this feature,
1884    you should use total-expire.
1885    
1886    If you want a message to be excluded from expiration in
1887    a group where total or auto expire is active, set either
1888    tick (hit @samp{u}) or dormant mark (hit
1889    @samp{u}), when you use auto-expire, you
1890    can also set the read mark (hit
1891    @samp{d}).
1892    
1893    @node [6.6]
1894    @subsubheading Question 6.6
1895    
1896   I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them  I don't want expiration to delete my mails but to move them
1897   to another group.  to another group.
   
1898    
1899  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
1900    
1901   Say something like this in ~/.gnus:  Say something like this in ~/.gnus.el:
   
1902    
1903  @example  @example
1904  (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")  (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
1905  @end example  @end example
   
1906  @noindent  @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?")  
   
1907    
1908  @ifnottex  (If you want to change the value of nnmail-expiry-target
1909  @node FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment, FAQ 8 - Getting help, FAQ 6 - Old messages, Frequently Asked Questions  on a per group basis see the question "How can I disable
1910  @end ifnottex  threading in some (e.g. mail-) groups, or set other
1911    variables specific for some groups?")
1912    
1913    @node FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment
1914  @subsection Gnus in a dial-up environment  @subsection Gnus in a dial-up environment
1915    
1916  @menu  @menu
1917  * [7.1]::   I don't have a permanent connection to the net, how can I  * [7.1]::    I don't have a permanent connection to the net, how can I
1918              minimize the time I've got to be connected?               minimize the time I've got to be connected?
1919  * [7.2]::   So what was this thing about the Agent?  * [7.2]::    So what was this thing about the Agent?
1920  * [7.3]::   I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it?  * [7.3]::    I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it?
1921  * [7.4]::   How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings while  * [7.4]::    How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings while
1922              I'm offline?               I'm offline?
1923  @end menu  @end menu
1924    
1925    @node [7.1]
1926    @subsubheading Question 7.1
1927    
1928  @ifnottex  I don't have a permanent connection to the net, how can
1929  @node [7.1], [7.2], FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment, FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment  I minimize the time I've got to be connected?
 @end ifnottex  
 @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?  
   
   
 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.  
   
1930    
1931  Let's talk about Unix systems first: For the news part, the easiest  @subsubheading Answer
 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}.  
1932    
1933  Then you want to fetch your Mail, popular choices are  You've got basically two options: Either you use the
1934  @itemize @bullet  Gnus Agent (see below) for this, or you can install
1935  @item  programs which fetch your news and mail to your local
1936  @uref{http://www.catb.org/~esr/fetchmail/,fetchmail} and  disk and Gnus reads the stuff from your local
1937  @item  machine.
1938  @uref{http://www.qcc.ca/~charlesc/software/getmail-3.0/,getmail}.  
1939  @end itemize  If you want to follow the second approach, you need a
1940  You should tell those to write the mail to your disk and Gnus to read  program which fetches news and offers them to Gnus, a
1941  it from there. Last but not least the mail sending part: This can be  program which does the same for mail and a program which
1942  done with every MTA like @uref{http://www.sendmail.org/,sendmail},  receives the mail you write from Gnus and sends them
1943  @uref{http://www.qmail.org/,postfix}, @uref{http://www.exim.org/,exim}  when you're online.
1944  or @uref{http://www.qmail.org/,qmail}.  
1945    Let's talk about Unix systems first: For the news part,
1946    the easiest solution is a small nntp server like
1947   On windows boxes I'd vote for  @uref{http://www.leafnode.org/, Leafnode} or
1948   @uref{http://www.tglsoft.de/,Hamster},  @uref{http://infa.abo.fi/~patrik/sn/, sn},
1949   it's a small freeware, open-source program which fetches  of course you can also install a full featured news
1950   your mail and news from remote servers and offers them  server like
1951   to Gnus (or any other mail and/or news reader) via nntp  @uref{http://www.isc.org/products/INN/, inn}.
1952   respectively POP3 or IMAP. It also includes a smtp  Then you want to fetch your Mail, popular choices
1953   server for receiving mails from Gnus.  are @uref{http://www.catb.org/~esr/fetchmail/, fetchmail}
1954    and @uref{http://www.qcc.ca/~charlesc/software/getmail-3.0/, getmail}.
1955  @ifnottex  You should tell those to write the mail to your disk and
1956  @node [7.2], [7.3], [7.1], FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment  Gnus to read it from there. Last but not least the mail
1957  @end ifnottex  sending part: This can be done with every MTA like
1958  @subsubheading Question 7.2:  @uref{http://www.sendmail.org/, sendmail},
1959    @uref{http://www.qmail.org/, postfix},
1960   So what was this thing about the Agent?  @uref{http://www.exim.org/, exim} or
1961    @uref{http://www.qmail.org/, qmail}.
1962    
1963  Answer:  On windows boxes I'd vote for
1964    @uref{http://www.tglsoft.de/, Hamster},
1965   The Gnus agent is part of Gnus, it allows you to fetch  it's a small freeware, open-source program which fetches
1966   mail and news and store them on disk for reading them  your mail and news from remote servers and offers them
1967   later when you're offline. It kind of mimics offline  to Gnus (or any other mail and/or news reader) via nntp
1968   newsreaders like e.g. Forte Agent. If you want to use  respectively POP3 or IMAP. It also includes a smtp
1969   the Agent place the following in ~/.gnus if you are  server for receiving mails from Gnus.
1970   still using 5.8.8 or 5.9 (it's the default since 5.10):  
1971    @node [7.2]
1972    @subsubheading Question 7.2
1973    
1974    So what was this thing about the Agent?
1975    
1976    @subsubheading Answer
1977    
1978    The Gnus agent is part of Gnus, it allows you to fetch
1979    mail and news and store them on disk for reading them
1980    later when you're offline. It kind of mimics offline
1981    newsreaders like e.g. Forte Agent. If you want to use
1982    the Agent place the following in ~/.gnus.el if you are
1983    still using 5.8.8 or 5.9 (it's the default since 5.10):
1984    
1985  @example  @example
1986  (setq gnus-agent t)  (setq gnus-agent t)
1987  @end example  @end example
1988    @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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [7.3], [7.4], [7.2], FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 7.3:  
   
  I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it?  
   
1989    
1990  Answer:  Now you've got to select the servers whose groups can be
1991    stored locally.  To do this, open the server buffer
1992    (that is press @samp{^} while in the
1993    group buffer).  Now select a server by moving point to
1994    the line naming that server.  Finally, agentize the
1995    server by typing @samp{J a}.  If you
1996    make a mistake, or change your mind, you can undo this
1997    action by typing @samp{J r}.  When
1998    you're done, type 'q' to return to the group buffer.
1999    Now the next time you enter a group on a agentized
2000    server, the headers will be stored on disk and read from
2001    there the next time you enter the group.
2002    
2003    @node [7.3]
2004    @subsubheading Question 7.3
2005    
2006    I want to store article bodies on disk, too. How to do it?
2007    
2008    @subsubheading Answer
2009    
2010    You can tell the agent to automatically fetch the bodies
2011    of articles which fulfill certain predicates, this is
2012    done in a special buffer which can be reached by
2013    saying @samp{J c} in group
2014    buffer. Please refer to the documentation for
2015    information which predicates are possible and how
2016    exactly to do it.
2017    
2018    Further on you can tell the agent manually which
2019    articles to store on disk. There are two ways to do
2020    this: Number one: In the summary buffer, process mark a
2021    set of articles that shall be stored in the agent by
2022    saying @samp{#} with point over the
2023    article and then type @samp{J s}. The
2024    other possibility is to set, again in the summary
2025    buffer, downloadable (%) marks for the articles you
2026    want by typing @samp{@@} with point over
2027    the article and then typing @samp{J u}.
2028    What's the difference? Well, process marks are erased as
2029    soon as you exit the summary buffer while downloadable
2030    marks are permanent.  You can actually set downloadable
2031    marks in several groups then use fetch session ('J s' in
2032    the GROUP buffer) to fetch all of those articles.  The
2033    only downside is that fetch session also fetches all of
2034    the headers for every selected group on an agentized
2035    server.  Depending on the volume of headers, the initial
2036    fetch session could take hours.
2037    
2038    @node [7.4]
2039    @subsubheading Question 7.4
2040    
2041    How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings
2042    while I'm offline?
2043    
2044    @subsubheading Answer
2045    
2046    All you've got to do is to tell Gnus when you are online
2047    (plugged) and when you are offline (unplugged), the rest
2048    works automatically. You can toggle plugged/unplugged
2049    state by saying @samp{J j} in group
2050    buffer. To start Gnus unplugged say @samp{M-x
2051    gnus-unplugged} instead of
2052    @samp{M-x gnus}. Note that for this to
2053    work, the agent must be active.
2054    
2055   You can tell the agent to automatically fetch the bodies  @node FAQ 8 - Getting help
2056   of articles which fulfill certain predicates, this is  @subsection Getting help
  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.  
   
2057    
2058   Further on you can tell the agent manually which  @menu
2059   articles to store on disk. There are two ways to do  * [8.1]::    How to find information and help inside Emacs?
2060   this: Number one: In the summary buffer, process mark a  * [8.2]::    I can't find anything in the Gnus manual about X (e.g.
2061   set of articles that shall be stored in the agent by               attachments, PGP, MIME...), is it not documented?
2062   saying @samp{#} with point over the  * [8.3]::    Which websites should I know?
2063   article and then type @samp{J s}. The  * [8.4]::    Which mailing lists and newsgroups are there?
2064   other possibility is to set, again in the summary  * [8.5]::    Where to report bugs?
2065   buffer, downloadable (%) marks for the articles you  * [8.6]::    I need real-time help, where to find it?
2066   want by typing @samp{@@} with point over  @end menu
  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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [7.4],  , [7.3], FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 7.4:  
2067    
2068   How to tell Gnus not to try to send mails / postings  @node [8.1]
2069   while I'm offline?  @subsubheading Question 8.1
   
2070    
2071  Answer:  How to find information and help inside Emacs?
2072    
2073   All you've got to do is to tell Gnus when you are online  @subsubheading Answer
  (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.  
   
2074    
2075  @ifnottex  The first stop should be the Gnus manual (Say
2076  @node FAQ 8 - Getting help, FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus, FAQ 7 - Gnus in a dial-up environment, Frequently Asked Questions  @samp{C-h i d m Gnus RET} to start the
2077  @end ifnottex  Gnus manual, then walk through the menus or do a
2078  @subsection Getting help  full-text search with @samp{s}). Then
2079    there are the general Emacs help commands starting with
2080    C-h, type @samp{C-h ? ?} to get a list
2081    of all available help commands and their meaning. Finally
2082    @samp{M-x apropos-command} lets you
2083    search through all available functions and @samp{M-x
2084    apropos} searches the bound variables.
2085    
2086  @menu  @node [8.2]
2087  * [8.1]::   How to find information and help inside Emacs?  @subsubheading Question 8.2
 * [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  
2088    
2089  @ifnottex  I can't find anything in the Gnus manual about X
2090  @node [8.1], [8.2], FAQ 8 - Getting help, FAQ 8 - Getting help  (e.g. attachments, PGP, MIME...), is it not documented?
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.1:  
2091    
2092   How to find information and help inside Emacs?  @subsubheading Answer
   
2093    
2094  Answer:  There's not only the Gnus manual but also the manuals
2095    for message, emacs-mime, sieve and pgg. Those packages
2096    are distributed with Gnus and used by Gnus but aren't
2097    really part of core Gnus, so they are documented in
2098    different info files, you should have a look in those
2099    manuals, too.
2100    
2101   The first stop should be the Gnus manual (Say  @node [8.3]
2102   @samp{C-h i d m Gnus RET} to start the  @subsubheading Question 8.3
  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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [8.2], [8.3], [8.1], FAQ 8 - Getting help  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.2:  
2103    
2104   I can't find anything in the Gnus manual about X  Which websites should I know?
  (e.g. attachments, PGP, MIME...), is it not documented?  
   
2105    
2106  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
2107    
2108   There's not only the Gnus manual but also the manuals  The two most important ones are the
2109   for message, emacs-mime, sieve and pgg. Those packages  @uref{http://www.gnus.org, official Gnus website}.
2110   are distributed with Gnus and used by Gnus but aren't  and it's sister site
2111   really part of core Gnus, so they are documented in  @uref{http://my.gnus.org, my.gnus.org (MGO)},
2112   different info files, you should have a look in those  hosting an archive of lisp snippets, howtos, a (not
2113   manuals, too.  really finished) tutorial and this FAQ.
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [8.3], [8.4], [8.2], FAQ 8 - Getting help  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.3:  
2114    
2115   Which websites should I know?  Tell me about other sites which are interesting.
   
2116    
2117  Answer:  @node [8.4]
2118    @subsubheading Question 8.4
2119    
2120   The two most important ones are the  Which mailing lists and newsgroups are there?
  @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.  
   
2121    
2122   Tell me about other sites which are interesting.  @subsubheading Answer
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [8.4], [8.5], [8.3], FAQ 8 - Getting help  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.4:  
2123    
2124   Which mailing lists and newsgroups are there?  There's the newsgroup gnu.emacs.gnus (pull it from
2125    e.g. news.gnus.org) which deals with general questions and the
2126    ding mailing list (ding@@gnus.org) dealing with development of
2127    Gnus. You can read the ding list via NNTP, too under the name
2128    gmane.emacs.gnus.general from news.gmane.org.
2129    
2130  Answer:  If you want to stay in the big8,
2131    news.software.newssreaders is also read by some Gnus
2132    users (but chances for qualified help are much better in
2133    the above groups) and if you speak German, there's
2134    de.comm.software.gnus.
2135    
2136   There's the newsgroup gnu.emacs.gnus (pull it from  @node [8.5]
2137   e.g. news.gnus.org) which deals with general questions  @subsubheading Question 8.5
  and the ding mailing list (ding@@gnus.org) dealing with  
  development of Gnus. You can read the ding list via  
  NNTP, too under the name gnus.ding from news.gnus.org.  
   
2138    
2139   If you want to stay in the big8,  Where to report bugs?
  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.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [8.5], [8.6], [8.4], FAQ 8 - Getting help  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.5:  
2140    
2141   Where to report bugs?  @subsubheading Answer
   
2142    
2143  Answer:  Say @samp{M-x gnus-bug}, this will start
2144    a message to the
2145    @email{bugs@@gnus.org, gnus bug mailing list}
2146    including information about your environment which make
2147    it easier to help you.
2148    
2149  Say @samp{M-x gnus-bug}, this will start a message to the  @node [8.6]
2150  @email{bugs@@gnus.org,gnus bug mailing list} including information  @subsubheading Question 8.6
 about your environment which make it easier to help you.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [8.6],  , [8.5], FAQ 8 - Getting help  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 8.6:  
2151    
2152   I need real-time help, where to find it?  I need real-time help, where to find it?
   
2153    
2154  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
2155    
2156   Point your IRC client to irc.my.gnus.org channel  Point your IRC client to irc.my.gnus.org channel
2157   #mygnus. Don't be afraid if people there speak German,  #mygnus. Don't be afraid if people there speak German,
2158   they are willing and capable of switching to  they are willing and capable of switching to
2159   English when people from outside Germany enter.  English when people from outside Germany enter.
   
2160    
2161  @ifnottex  @node FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus
 @node FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus, FAQ - Glossary, FAQ 8 - Getting help, Frequently Asked Questions  
 @end ifnottex  
2162  @subsection Tuning Gnus  @subsection Tuning Gnus
2163    
2164  @menu  @menu
2165  * [9.1]::   Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up?  * [9.1]::    Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up?
2166  * [9.2]::   How to speed up the process of entering a group?  * [9.2]::    How to speed up the process of entering a group?
2167  * [9.3]::   Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up?  * [9.3]::    Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up?
2168  @end menu  @end menu
2169    
2170  @ifnottex  @node [9.1]
2171  @node [9.1], [9.2], FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus, FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus  @subsubheading Question 9.1
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 9.1:  
2172    
2173   Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up?  Starting Gnus is really slow, how to speed it up?
   
2174    
2175  Answer:  @subsubheading Answer
2176    
2177   The reason for this could be the way Gnus reads it's  The reason for this could be the way Gnus reads it's
2178   active file, see the node "The Active File" in the Gnus  active file, see the node "The Active File" in the Gnus
2179   manual for things you might try to speed the process up.  manual for things you might try to speed the process up.
2180   An other idea would be to byte compile your ~/.gnus (say  An other idea would be to byte compile your ~/.gnus.el (say
2181   @samp{M-x byte-compile-file RET ~/.gnus  @samp{M-x byte-compile-file RET ~/.gnus.el
2182   RET} to do it). Finally, if you have require  RET} to do it). Finally, if you have require
2183   statements in your .gnus, you could replace them with  statements in your .gnus, you could replace them with
2184   eval-after-load, which loads the stuff not at startup  eval-after-load, which loads the stuff not at startup
2185   time, but when it's needed. Say you've got this in your  time, but when it's needed. Say you've got this in your
2186   ~/.gnus:  ~/.gnus.el:
   
2187    
2188  @example  @example
2189  (require 'message)  (require 'message)
2190  (add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled))  (add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled))
2191  @end example  @end example
   
2192  @noindent  @noindent
2193   then as soon as you start Gnus, message.el is loaded. If  
2194   you replace it with  then as soon as you start Gnus, message.el is loaded. If
2195    you replace it with
2196    
2197  @example  @example
2198  (eval-after-load "message"  (eval-after-load "message"
2199        '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled)))        '(add-to-list 'message-syntax-checks '(sender . disabled)))
2200  @end example  @end example
   
2201  @noindent  @noindent
  it's loaded when it's needed.  
   
 @ifnottex  
 @node [9.2], [9.3], [9.1], FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus  
 @end ifnottex  
 @subsubheading Question 9.2:  
2202    
2203   How to speed up the process of entering a group?  it's loaded when it's needed.
   
2204    
2205  Answer:  @node [9.2]
2206    @subsubheading Question 9.2
2207    
2208   A speed killer is setting the variable  How to speed up the process of entering a group?
2209   gnus-fetch-old-headers to anything different from nil,  
2210   so don't do this if speed is an issue. To speed up  @subsubheading Answer
2211   building of summary say  
2212    A speed killer is setting the variable
2213    gnus-fetch-old-headers to anything different from nil,
2214    so don't do this if speed is an issue. To speed up
2215    building of summary say
2216    
2217  @example  @example
2218  (gnus-compile)  (gnus-compile)
2219  @end example  @end example
   
2220  @noindent  @noindent
2221   at the bottom of your ~/.gnus, this will make gnus  
2222   byte-compile things like  at the bottom of your ~/.gnus.el, this will make gnus
2223   gnus-summary-line-format.  byte-compile things like
2224   then you could increase the value of gc-cons-threshold  gnus-summary-line-format.
2225   by saying something like  then you could increase the value of gc-cons-threshold
2226    by saying something like
2227    
2228  @example  @example
2229  (setq gc-cons-threshold 3500000)  (setq gc-cons-threshold 3500000)
2230  @end example  @end example
   
2231  @noindent  @noindent
2232   in ~/.emacs. If you don't care about width of CJK  
2233   characters or use Gnus 5.10 or younger together with a  in ~/.emacs. If you don't care about width of CJK
2234   recent GNU Emacs, you should say  characters or use Gnus 5.10 or younger together with a
2235    recent GNU Emacs, you should say
2236    
2237  @example  @example
2238  (setq gnus-use-correct-string-widths nil)  (setq gnus-use-correct-string-widths nil)
2239  @end example  @end example
   
   
2240  @noindent  @noindent
  in ~/.gnus (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.  
2241    
2242  @ifnottex  in ~/.gnus.el (thanks to Jesper harder for the last
2243  @node [9.3],  , [9.2], FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus  two suggestions). Finally if you are still using 5.8.8
2244  @end ifnottex  or 5.9 and experience speed problems with summary
2245  @subsubheading Question 9.3:  buffer generation, you definitely should update to
2246    5.10 since there quite some work on improving it has
2247    been done.
2248    
2249   Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up?  @node [9.3]
2250    @subsubheading Question 9.3
2251    
2252  Answer:  Sending mail becomes slower and slower, what's up?
2253    
2254   The reason could be that you told Gnus to archive the  @subsubheading Answer
  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.  
   
2255    
2256  @ifnottex  The reason could be that you told Gnus to archive the
2257  @node FAQ - Glossary,  , FAQ 9 - Tuning Gnus, Frequently Asked Questions  messages you wrote by setting
2258  @end ifnottex  gnus-message-archive-group. Try to use a nnml group
2259    instead of an archive group, this should bring you back
2260    to normal speed.
2261    
2262    @node FAQ - Glossary
2263  @subsection Glossary  @subsection Glossary
2264    
2265  @table @dfn  @table @dfn
2266    
2267  @item ~/.gnus  @item ~/.gnus.el
2268   When the term ~/.gnus is used it just means your Gnus  When the term ~/.gnus.el is used it just means your Gnus
2269   configuration file. You might as well call it ~/.gnus.el or  configuration file. You might as well call it ~/.gnus or
2270   specify another name.  specify another name.
   
2271    
2272  @item Back End  @item Back End
2273   In Gnus terminology a back end is a virtual server, a layer  In Gnus terminology a back end is a virtual server, a layer
2274   between core Gnus and the real NNTP-, POP3-, IMAP- or  between core Gnus and the real NNTP-, POP3-, IMAP- or
2275   whatever-server which offers Gnus a standardized interface  whatever-server which offers Gnus a standardized interface
2276   to functions like "get message", "get Headers" etc.  to functions like "get message", "get Headers" etc.
   
2277    
2278  @item Emacs  @item Emacs
2279   When the term Emacs is used in this FAQ, it means either GNU  When the term Emacs is used in this FAQ, it means either GNU
2280   Emacs or XEmacs.  Emacs or XEmacs.
   
2281    
2282  @item Message  @item Message
2283   In this FAQ message means a either a mail or a posting to a  In this FAQ message means a either a mail or a posting to a
2284   Usenet Newsgroup or to some other fancy back end, no matter  Usenet Newsgroup or to some other fancy back end, no matter
2285   of which kind it is.  of which kind it is.
   
2286    
2287  @item MUA  @item MUA
2288   MUA is an acronym for Mail User Agent, it's the program you  MUA is an acronym for Mail User Agent, it's the program you
2289   use to read and write e-mails.  use to read and write e-mails.
   
2290    
2291  @item NUA  @item NUA
2292   NUA is an acronym for News User Agent, it's the program you  NUA is an acronym for News User Agent, it's the program you
2293   use to read and write Usenet news.  use to read and write Usenet news.
   
 @end table  
2294    
2295  @c @bye  @end table
2296    
2297  @ignore  @ignore
2298     arch-tag: 64dc5692-edb4-4848-a965-7aa0181acbb8  arch-tag: 64dc5692-edb4-4848-a965-7aa0181acbb8
2299  @end ignore  @end ignore

Legend:
Removed from v.1.13  
changed lines
  Added in v.1.14

savannah-hackers-public@gnu.org
ViewVC Help
Powered by ViewVC 1.1.26