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configset listname digests <<TAG
[VALUE LINES]
TAG
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Default Value : no default
Data Type     : digests
Category      : deliver
Password Notes: none
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EXAMPLE:
configset listname digests << ENDTAG
daily  
times=5
minsize=20
minmsg=5
maxsize=40
maxmsg=10
maxage=3d
separate=1d
type=mime
sort=thread
index=numbered
desc=The pre-dawn daily digest 
subject=[$LIST] Daily digest ($MESSAGECOUNT messages)

weekly
times=fr(23) 
minsize=20
minmsg=5
maxsize=100
maxmsg=30
type=index
desc=The listname weekly index, generated late friday night.
ENDTAG


The digests setting determines when digests of posted messages should be
delivered to the subscribers of a mailing list.

A digest is defined by a name, followed by various fields which contain
the description, subject header, and several criteria that determine
when an issue of the digest should be delivered.  The name of the digest
appears on the first line.  Succeeding lines use a FIELD=VALUE format to
specify the values of various fields.  Any field that is not mentioned
explicitly will have a default value.

Blank lines are used to separate digests from one another.  There is no
limit on the number of digests that can be supported.

A brief summary of each field appears in the following table:

Field             Description
-----    ---------------------------------
desc     A brief description of the digest.
index    The format of the table of contents.
maxage   The oldest age permitted for a message awaiting delivery.
maxmsg   The maximum number of messages per issue.
maxsize  The maximum size of an issue in kilobytes.
minage   The youngest age permitted for a message awaiting delivery.
minmsg   The minimum total number of messages awaiting delivery.
minsize  The minimum total size of messages awaiting delivery
newmsg   Are new messages allowed to invoke delivery?
separate The minimum time between issues.
sort     How to sort the messages in an issue.
subject  The Subject header of the digest mail message.
times    When can digests be delivered?
type     The format of the messages in an issue.


                         When are digests sent?

The following criteria are used to determine if a digest should be sent:

  * The digest is never sent if the current time is not within the
  limits of the "times" field.

  * The digest is never sent if the elapsed time since the last delivery
  is less than the time given in the "separate" field.

  If the "times" and "separate" criteria are met:
      
  * A digest is sent if there is a waiting message older than "maxage", 
  even if this means violating "minmsg", "minsize" and "minage" field
  limits.

  * Otherwise, a digest is sent only if: 
    + the combined size of the messages meets or exceeds the limit in the 
      "minsize" field, and

    + the number of messages meets or exceeds the limit in the "minmsg" 
      field, and

    + the newest message awaiting delivery is older than the "minage"
      field limit.


                              Digest names

The name of a digest can be any single word, with some exceptions:

  * It should not be the same as a digest type (index, mime, or text).

  * It should not contain spaces, commas(','), colons (':'), or pipes ('|').

Digest names are case-insensitive.


                             Digest fields


Each digest field is described in more detail in the following section.

desc
----
The description of the digest usually appears at the top of the table of
contents of each digest issue and in the Subject header of the digest
(as determined by the subject field).  

The default value is "Message Digest".


index
-----
The index field determines what information to display about each
message in the table of contents of a digest issue.  The default value
is determined by the digest_index_format configuration setting.   The
following values are supported:

  numbered
  numbered_name
  subject
  subject_author
  subject_name

Please see "help configset_digest_index_format" for examples of each
format.  See "help digest" for a detailed description of how to
customize the table of contents.


maxage
------
You can keep digests from getting stale by forcing them to be
distributed whenever they reach this age, regardless of whether the
minsize and minage limits have been reached.  For example, the value

  3d

would cause a digest to be delivered if the age of the oldest message is
greater than three days.

The syntax of this field is detailed in the "Time spans" section of the
"help times" document.

The default is no maximum age.

The age of a particular message is based upon the time of arrival or the
time of delivery, as determined by the archive_date configuration setting.


maxmsg
------
The number of messages in a single issue of a digest cannot exceed 
this value.

The default value is 0, which corresponds to a sanity-check value of
200 messages.


maxsize
-------
The maxsize field limits the size of one issue of a digest in kilobytes.

At least one message will be sent in every issue, even if that message
exceeds the size limit.

The default value is 0, which corresponds to a sanity-check value of
4 megabytes.

A kilobyte is 1024 bytes.


minage
------
The arrival of a new message will cause digests to be delivered if
the criteria are met.  If a digest has no minimum size specified by the
"minsize" field, a digest may be delivered that contains only the latest 
message.  

The syntax of this field is detailed in the "Time spans" section of the
"help times" document.

The default value is 0, no minimum age.

The age of a particular message is based upon the time of arrival or the
time of delivery, as determined by the archive_date configuration setting.


minmsg
------
An issue of the digest will not be delivered until the total number of
messages awaiting delivery is greater than this value.

The default value is 0, meaning no limit.


minsize
-------
An issue of the digest will not be delivered until the total size of the
messages awaiting delivery is greater than or equal to this value.  The
value is in kilobytes.

The default value is 0, meaning no size limit.


newmsg
------
Digests can be issued when a new message is posted to a mailing list.
If you do not want new messages to cause digests to be checked, change
the newmsg field to 0.

The default value is 1, which allows new messages to invoke digest
delivery.

Digests will always be checked hourly by a periodic trigger, regardless
of the value of this field.  See "help configset_triggers" for more
information about periodic triggers.

A new messages will never cause more than one issue of each digest to be
delivered.


separate
--------
When messages come in quickly, or when a body of messages builds up
during the times that digests are not allowed to be generated, it is
possible that there are too many messages to be sent in a single digest
and perhaps enough messages to fill more than one digest.  By default,
no more than one issue of a particular digest will be delivered per
hour.  This allows digest deliveries to occur more evenly.

If this value is set to zero, multiple issues of a digest may be mailed
within a short period of time.  This is useful, for example, if you
maintain a weekly digest, and wish all issues of the digest to be
delivered together.  If a new message causes digest delivery, no more
than one issue of each digest will be delivered.

The syntax of this field is detailed in the "Time spans" section of the
"help times" document.

The default value is 15 minutes.


sort
----
The sort field determines the order of the messages within a single issue.
The choices include:

  author  - sort the messages according to the e-mail address of the
            author, by domain.

  date    - sort the messages by date.  Message dates are determined
            by the time of arrival or the time of delivery, as specified
            in the archive_date configuration setting.

  numeric - sort the messages by number.  This causes the messages in
            the digest to appear in the same order as they were
            delivered to the mailing list.

  subject - sort the messages alphabetically by the contents of the
            Subject header.

  thread  - sort the messages so replies that form a conversation
            are grouped together.

The default value is "numeric".


subject
-------
The subject field determines the contents of the Subject header of the
each issue of a digest.  It has no effect upon the subject headers of
the messages within a digest.

The default value is "[GLOBAL] $DIGESTDESC V$VOLUME #$ISSUE".

The following substitutions are available in the subject field:

$DIGESTDESC   - The description of the digest (from the "desc" field)
$DIGESTNAME   - The name of the digest
$DIGESTTYPE   - The type of the digest (from the "type" field)
$ISSUE        - The current issue number
$LIST         - The name of the list
$MESSAGECOUNT - The number of messages in this issue
$VOLUME       - The current volume number

See "help variables" for an introduction to substitutions.


times
-----
The times field lists days and hours during which digests are permitted
to be delivered.  The full syntax is described in the "Scheduled times" 
section of the "help times" document.  For example,

  15th(6-8) 

would allow the digest to be delivered between 6 AM and 8 AM on the 15th
day of every month.


type
----
The type field determines the appearance of each message within a
digest.  When subscribers choose to receive messages in a digest, but do not
specify which type they prefer, this field determines which format is
used by default.  Three formats are supported:

  index - Only the table of contents is shown.  The messages are omitted.

  mime  - Each message is included in its entirety.

  text  - Only plain text message parts are included.  Single-part
          HTML messages are converted into plain text automatically.
          All other attachments are omitted.

                                Caution

If you remove a digest from the digests setting, any subscribers who
receive that digest will stop receiving mail from the list.  


                                Comments

It is possible to use comments before, between, and after the individual
digest configuration settings, but not between the two lines that
describe an individual digest.  Comments are lines that begin with a '#'.


See Also:
   help admin_delivery
   help configset_archive_date
   help configset_digest_index_format 
   help configset_digest_issues
   help digest
   help times
   help variables

This is the "configset_digests" help document for 
Majordomo 2, version 0.1200401130.

For a list of all help documents, send the following command:
   help topics
in the body of a message to mj2@smoe.org.

For assistance, please contact the smoe.org administrators.
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