Emacs for E-Mail

Emacs for E-Mail
Emacs has been called the Swiss Army knife of GNU/Linux because of all the functions it can perform. Sending and receiving e-mail is another application of Emacs that you may want to use. It is important to note that not all e-mail services support the use of Gnus or Emacs as a mail client. Double-check with your e-mail service to see if they support this before you configure the .gnus file.

If your e-mail service provides support for Emacs and Gnus, let’s open the .gnus file and modify it to be able to send and receive e-mails. To do this, you will need the SMTP and POP server information that was used for setting up your Evolution account. If you no longer have this information, your e-mail provider’s site will have this information for you.

Once you have opened your .gnus file, move the point to the first available line in the file by using the arrow keys or the C-N key binding (hold down CTRL and press N repeatedly until the point is at the first empty line in the file). Once you have the point in the right place, enter the following code:

(setq smtpmail-smtp-server "smtp.your isp.com")
(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "smtp.your isp.com")))
(setq smtpmail-local-domain "your isp.com")

This will set up Gnus to send mail using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP). Where the example reads “your isp.com,” substitute the name of your Internet service provider. Remember, not all providers end in “.com”; some end in “.net.” For instance, if you are using Bell South, you would enter bellsouth.net.

To be able to receive e-mail, you need to define the Post Office Protocol (POP) server that your ISP uses. Once you have this information, you need to add the following line to the .gnus configuration file:

(setq mail-sources '((pop :server "your.pop3server.com" :user "username" )))

Gnus will now download all of your mail into a newsgroup that it creates for you. By opening this newsgroup, you can read through all of your downloaded e-mail. Since you set up the SMTP server settings, you can send e-mail as well by going to the toolbar and selecting Gnus | Send A Message. Once you have typed your message, click the Send This Message icon on the toolbar.

If you find Emacs to be a valuable tool when using your computer, practice with it as much as you can. Many more key bindings and many more tools are available to you in Emacs. The more you use this tool, the easier it gets. Learning the key bindings is like learning a second language, only you don’t have to roll your rrrr’s. Practice, practice, practice, and eventually you will find yourself using the key bindings to navigate through the buffers and frames without having to refer to a cheat sheet of any kind.

In this configuration, you will be asked to provide your password each time you start Gnus. It is possible to modify this line to automatically enter your password for you; however, this is not an advisable practice since anyone with access to your computer would be able to read all of your e-mails.

Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything