10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
292 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
295 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
296 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
297 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
298 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
299 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
300 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
301 License'' in the Emacs manual.
303 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
304 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
305 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
307 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
308 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
309 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
310 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
318 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
320 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
321 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
323 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
324 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
325 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
326 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
327 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
328 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
329 License'' in the Emacs manual.
331 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
332 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
333 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
335 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
336 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
337 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
338 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
351 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
353 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
354 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
355 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
356 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
357 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
358 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
359 License'' in the Emacs manual.
361 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
362 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
363 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
365 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
366 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
367 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
368 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
377 @top The Gnus Newsreader
381 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
382 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
383 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
386 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
397 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
398 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
400 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
401 being accused of plagiarism:
403 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
404 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
405 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
406 can even read news with it!
408 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
409 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
410 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
411 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
412 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
418 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
419 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
420 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
421 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
422 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
423 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
424 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
425 * Various:: General purpose settings.
426 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
427 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
428 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
429 * Key Index:: Key Index.
432 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
436 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
437 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
476 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
477 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
478 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
482 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
483 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
484 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
485 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
486 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
490 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
491 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
492 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
493 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
494 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
498 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
499 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
500 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
501 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
502 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
504 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
505 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
506 * Threading:: How threads are made.
507 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
508 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
509 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
510 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
511 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
512 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
513 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
514 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
515 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
516 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
517 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
518 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
519 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
520 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
521 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
522 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
523 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
524 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
525 or reselecting the current group.
526 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
527 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
528 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
529 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
531 Summary Buffer Format
533 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
534 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
535 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
536 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
543 Reply, Followup and Post
545 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
546 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
547 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
548 * Canceling and Superseding::
552 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
553 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
554 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
556 * Generic Marking Commands::
557 * Setting Process Marks::
561 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
562 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
563 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
567 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
568 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
570 Customizing Threading
572 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
573 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
574 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
575 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
579 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
580 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
581 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
582 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
583 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
584 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
588 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
589 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
590 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
594 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
595 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
596 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
597 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
598 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
599 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
600 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
601 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
602 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
603 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
605 Alternative Approaches
607 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
608 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
610 Various Summary Stuff
612 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
613 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
614 * Summary Generation Commands::
615 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
619 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
620 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
621 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
622 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
623 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
627 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
628 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
629 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
630 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
631 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
632 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
633 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
634 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
638 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
639 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
640 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
641 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
642 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
643 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
644 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
645 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
649 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
650 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
651 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
652 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
653 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
654 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
655 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
659 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
660 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
664 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
665 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
666 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
697 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
702 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
703 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
704 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
705 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
706 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
707 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
711 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
712 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
713 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
714 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
715 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
719 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
720 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
721 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
722 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
723 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
727 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
731 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
732 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
733 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
737 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
738 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
742 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
743 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
744 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
745 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
746 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
747 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
748 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
749 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
750 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
751 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
752 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
756 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
757 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
758 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
762 * Group Agent Commands::
763 * Summary Agent Commands::
764 * Server Agent Commands::
768 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
769 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
770 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
771 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
772 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
773 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
774 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
775 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
776 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
777 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
778 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
779 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
780 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
781 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
782 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
783 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
784 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
788 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
789 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
790 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
791 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
795 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
796 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
797 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
801 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
802 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
803 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
804 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
805 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
806 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
807 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
808 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
809 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
810 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
811 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
812 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
813 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
814 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
815 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
816 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
817 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
818 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
819 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
823 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
824 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
825 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
826 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
827 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
828 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
829 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
830 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
834 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
835 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
836 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
837 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
838 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
842 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
843 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
844 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
845 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
846 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
850 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
851 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
852 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
853 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
854 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
855 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
859 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
860 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
861 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
862 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
863 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
864 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
865 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
866 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
867 * Frequently Asked Questions::
871 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
872 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
873 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
874 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
875 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
876 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
877 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
878 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
879 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
883 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
884 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
885 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
886 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
887 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
891 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
892 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
893 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
894 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
898 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
899 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
900 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
901 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
902 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
903 * Group Info:: The group info format.
904 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
905 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
906 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
910 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
911 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
912 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
913 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
914 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
915 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
919 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
920 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
924 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
925 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
931 @chapter Starting Gnus
936 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
937 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
940 @findex gnus-other-frame
941 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
942 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
943 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
945 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
946 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
947 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
949 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
950 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
953 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
954 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
955 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
956 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
957 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
958 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
959 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
960 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
961 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
962 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
963 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
967 @node Finding the News
968 @section Finding the News
971 @vindex gnus-select-method
973 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
974 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
975 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
976 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
979 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
980 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
983 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
986 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
989 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
992 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
993 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
994 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
996 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
998 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
999 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1000 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1001 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1002 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1003 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1005 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1006 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1007 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1008 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1010 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1011 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1012 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1013 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1014 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1015 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1016 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1017 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1018 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1021 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1023 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1024 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1025 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1026 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1027 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1028 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1030 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1032 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1033 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1034 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1035 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1036 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1037 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1040 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1041 you would typically set this variable to
1044 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1048 @node The First Time
1049 @section The First Time
1050 @cindex first time usage
1052 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1053 be subscribed by default.
1055 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1056 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1057 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1058 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1061 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1062 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1063 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1065 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1066 help you with most common problems.
1068 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1069 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1073 @node The Server is Down
1074 @section The Server is Down
1075 @cindex server errors
1077 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1078 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1079 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1081 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1082 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1083 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1084 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1085 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1086 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1087 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1089 @findex gnus-no-server
1090 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1092 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1093 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1094 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1095 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1096 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1097 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1098 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1102 @section Slave Gnusae
1105 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1106 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1107 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1108 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1110 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1111 @code{.newsrc} file.
1113 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1114 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1115 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1116 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1117 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1118 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1119 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1121 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1122 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1123 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1124 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1125 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1126 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1127 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1128 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1130 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1131 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1133 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1134 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1135 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1136 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1137 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1139 @node Fetching a Group
1140 @section Fetching a Group
1141 @cindex fetching a group
1143 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1144 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1145 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1146 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1147 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1148 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1154 @cindex subscription
1156 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1157 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1158 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1159 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1160 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1161 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1162 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1163 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1164 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1167 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1168 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1169 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1173 @node Checking New Groups
1174 @subsection Checking New Groups
1176 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1177 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1178 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1179 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1180 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1181 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1182 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1183 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1184 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1185 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1187 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1188 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1189 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1190 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1191 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1192 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1193 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1194 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1195 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1196 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1197 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1199 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1200 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1201 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1202 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1203 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1204 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1207 @node Subscription Methods
1208 @subsection Subscription Methods
1210 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1211 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1212 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1214 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1215 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1217 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1223 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1224 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1225 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1229 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1230 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1234 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1238 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1239 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1240 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1241 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1242 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1243 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1244 up. Or something like that.
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1248 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1249 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1250 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1254 Kill all new groups.
1256 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1258 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1259 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1260 topic parameter that looks like
1266 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1269 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1275 A closely related variable is
1276 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1277 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1278 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1279 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1282 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1283 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1284 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1285 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1288 @node Filtering New Groups
1289 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1291 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1292 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1293 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1296 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1299 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1300 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1301 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1302 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1303 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1304 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1305 subscribing these groups.
1306 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1307 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1309 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1310 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1311 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1312 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1313 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1314 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1315 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1316 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1318 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1319 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1320 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1321 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1322 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1323 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1324 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1325 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1326 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1327 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1330 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1331 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1334 @node Changing Servers
1335 @section Changing Servers
1336 @cindex changing servers
1338 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1339 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1340 very flaky and you want to use another.
1342 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1343 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1347 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1348 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1349 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1350 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1353 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1354 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1355 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1356 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1358 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1359 @findex gnus-change-server
1360 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1361 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1362 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1363 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1364 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1367 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1368 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1369 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1370 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1372 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1373 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1374 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1375 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1376 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1377 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1379 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1380 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1381 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1382 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1384 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1385 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1386 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1387 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1388 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1389 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1390 cache for all groups).
1394 @section Startup Files
1395 @cindex startup files
1400 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1401 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1403 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1404 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1405 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1406 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1407 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1408 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1409 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1411 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1412 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1413 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1414 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1415 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1416 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1418 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1419 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1420 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1421 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1422 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1423 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1424 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1425 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1426 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1427 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1429 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1430 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1431 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1432 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1433 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1434 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1435 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1436 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1437 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1438 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1439 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1440 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1442 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1443 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1444 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1445 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1447 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1448 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1449 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1450 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1451 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1452 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1453 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1454 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1455 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1456 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1459 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1460 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1462 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1463 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1466 @vindex gnus-init-file
1467 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1468 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1469 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1470 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1471 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1472 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1473 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1474 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1475 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1481 @cindex dribble file
1484 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1485 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1486 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1487 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1488 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1491 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1492 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1495 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1496 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1497 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1499 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1500 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1501 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1502 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1503 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1504 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1506 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1507 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1508 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1511 @node The Active File
1512 @section The Active File
1514 @cindex ignored groups
1516 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1517 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1518 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1520 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1521 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1522 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1523 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1524 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1525 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1526 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1529 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1530 @c if you set it to anything else.
1532 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1534 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1535 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1536 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1538 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1539 you actually subscribe to.
1541 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1542 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1543 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1544 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1546 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1547 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1548 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1549 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1550 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1551 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1553 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1554 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1555 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1558 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1559 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1560 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1561 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1562 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1563 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1565 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1566 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1568 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1569 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1571 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1572 secondary select methods.
1575 @node Startup Variables
1576 @section Startup Variables
1580 @item gnus-load-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1582 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1583 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1584 times you start Gnus.
1586 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1588 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1590 @item gnus-startup-hook
1591 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1592 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1594 @item gnus-started-hook
1595 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1596 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1599 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1601 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1602 generating the group buffer.
1604 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1605 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1606 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1607 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1608 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1609 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1610 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1611 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1613 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1614 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1615 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1616 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1617 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1618 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1620 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1621 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1622 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1624 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1625 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1626 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1628 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1629 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1630 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1631 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1637 @chapter Group Buffer
1638 @cindex group buffer
1640 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1642 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1643 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1644 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1645 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1646 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1647 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1648 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1649 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1650 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1651 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1652 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1653 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1654 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1655 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1656 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1657 @c human rights at 9...
1660 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1661 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1662 long as Gnus is active.
1666 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1667 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1668 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1669 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1670 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1671 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1672 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1673 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1679 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1680 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1681 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1682 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1683 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1684 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1685 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1686 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1687 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1688 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1689 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1690 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1691 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1692 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1693 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1694 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1695 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1699 @node Group Buffer Format
1700 @section Group Buffer Format
1703 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1704 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1705 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1709 @node Group Line Specification
1710 @subsection Group Line Specification
1711 @cindex group buffer format
1713 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1714 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1716 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1719 25: news.announce.newusers
1720 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1725 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1726 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1727 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1728 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1730 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1731 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1732 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1733 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1734 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1735 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1737 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1739 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1740 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1741 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1742 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1743 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1745 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1746 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1747 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1749 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1754 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1757 Whether the group is subscribed.
1760 Level of subscribedness.
1763 Number of unread articles.
1766 Number of dormant articles.
1769 Number of ticked articles.
1772 Number of read articles.
1775 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1776 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1778 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1779 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1780 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1781 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1782 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1783 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1784 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1785 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1788 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1791 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1800 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1801 comment element in the group parameters.
1804 Newsgroup description.
1807 @samp{m} if moderated.
1810 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1819 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1823 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1826 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1827 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1828 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1829 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1830 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1833 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1835 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1839 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1842 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1846 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1847 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1848 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1849 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1850 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1851 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1856 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1857 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1858 group, or a bogus native group.
1861 @node Group Modeline Specification
1862 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1863 @cindex group modeline
1865 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1866 The mode line can be changed by setting
1867 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1868 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1872 The native news server.
1874 The native select method.
1878 @node Group Highlighting
1879 @subsection Group Highlighting
1880 @cindex highlighting
1881 @cindex group highlighting
1883 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1884 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1885 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1886 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1887 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1889 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1893 (cond (window-system
1894 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1895 (defface my-group-face-1
1896 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-2
1898 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1899 (defface my-group-face-3
1900 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1901 (defface my-group-face-4
1902 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1903 (defface my-group-face-5
1904 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1906 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1907 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1908 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1909 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1910 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1911 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1914 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1916 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1923 The number of unread articles in the group.
1927 Whether the group is a mail group.
1929 The level of the group.
1931 The score of the group.
1933 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1935 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1936 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1938 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1939 topic being inserted.
1942 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1943 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1944 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1946 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1947 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1948 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1949 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1950 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1953 @node Group Maneuvering
1954 @section Group Maneuvering
1955 @cindex group movement
1957 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1958 expected, hopefully.
1964 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1965 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1966 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1972 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1973 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1974 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1978 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1979 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1983 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1984 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1988 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1989 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1990 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1994 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1995 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1996 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1999 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2005 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2006 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2007 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2012 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2013 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2014 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2018 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2019 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2020 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2023 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2024 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2025 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2026 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2030 @node Selecting a Group
2031 @section Selecting a Group
2032 @cindex group selection
2037 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2038 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2039 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2040 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2041 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2042 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2043 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2044 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2045 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2046 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2048 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2049 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2050 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2052 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2053 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2058 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2059 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2060 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2061 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2062 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2066 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2067 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2068 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2069 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2070 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2071 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2072 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2073 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2074 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2075 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2078 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2079 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2080 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2081 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2082 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2085 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2086 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2087 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2088 doing any processing of its contents
2089 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2090 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2091 manner will have no permanent effects.
2095 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2096 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2097 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2098 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2099 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2100 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2101 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2102 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2105 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2106 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2107 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2108 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2109 Which article this is is controlled by the
2110 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2116 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2119 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2122 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2124 @item unseen-or-unread
2125 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2126 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2130 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2134 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2135 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2137 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2138 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2139 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2140 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2144 @node Subscription Commands
2145 @section Subscription Commands
2146 @cindex subscription
2154 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2155 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2156 Toggle subscription to the current group
2157 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2163 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2164 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2165 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2166 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2172 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2173 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2174 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2180 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2181 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2184 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2185 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2186 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2187 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2188 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2194 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2195 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2199 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2200 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2203 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2204 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2205 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2206 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2207 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2208 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2209 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2210 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2211 @file{.newsrc} file.
2215 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2225 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2226 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2227 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2228 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2229 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2230 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2235 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2236 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2237 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2241 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2242 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2243 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2245 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2246 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2247 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2248 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2249 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2250 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2257 @section Group Levels
2261 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2262 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2263 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2264 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2265 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2267 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2273 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2274 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2275 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2276 prompted for a level.
2279 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2280 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2281 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2282 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2283 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2284 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2285 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2286 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2287 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2288 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2289 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2290 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2291 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2292 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2293 reasons of efficiency.
2295 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2296 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2298 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2299 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2300 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2301 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2302 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2303 groups are hidden, in a way.
2305 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2306 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2307 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2308 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2309 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2310 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2312 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2313 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2314 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2315 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2316 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2317 list of killed groups.)
2319 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2320 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2321 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2323 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2324 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2325 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2326 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2327 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2328 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2329 relevant valid ranges.
2331 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2332 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2333 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2334 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2335 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2336 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2339 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2340 one with the best level.
2342 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2343 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2344 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2347 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2348 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2349 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2350 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2353 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2354 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2355 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2356 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2358 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2359 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2360 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2361 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2362 to 5. The default is 6.
2366 @section Group Score
2371 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2372 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2373 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2376 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2377 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2378 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2379 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2380 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2381 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2382 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2383 least significant part.))
2385 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2386 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2387 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2388 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2389 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2390 action after each summary exit, you can add
2391 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2392 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2393 slow things down somewhat.
2396 @node Marking Groups
2397 @section Marking Groups
2398 @cindex marking groups
2400 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2401 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2402 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2403 bidding on those groups.
2405 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2406 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2407 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2415 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2416 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2422 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2423 Remove the mark from the current group
2424 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2428 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2429 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2433 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2434 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2438 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2439 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2443 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2444 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2445 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2448 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2450 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2451 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2452 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2453 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2454 the command to be executed.
2457 @node Foreign Groups
2458 @section Foreign Groups
2459 @cindex foreign groups
2461 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2462 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2463 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2464 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2471 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2472 @cindex making groups
2473 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2474 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2475 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2479 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2480 @cindex renaming groups
2481 Rename the current group to something else
2482 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2483 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2489 @findex gnus-group-customize
2490 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2494 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2495 @cindex renaming groups
2496 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2497 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2502 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2503 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2507 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2508 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2509 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2513 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2515 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2516 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2521 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2522 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2526 @cindex (ding) archive
2527 @cindex archive group
2528 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2529 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2530 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2531 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2532 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2533 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2534 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2538 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2540 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2541 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2542 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2543 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2547 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2549 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2550 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2551 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2555 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2556 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2558 Make a group based on some file or other
2559 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2560 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2561 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2562 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2563 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2564 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2565 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2566 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2567 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2571 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2572 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2573 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2574 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2578 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2582 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2583 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2584 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2585 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2586 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2587 @xref{Web Searches}.
2589 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2590 to a particular group by using a match string like
2591 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2594 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2595 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2596 This function will delete the current group
2597 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2598 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2599 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2600 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2601 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2605 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2606 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2607 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2611 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2612 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2613 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2616 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2619 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2620 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2621 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2622 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2623 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2624 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2628 @node Group Parameters
2629 @section Group Parameters
2630 @cindex group parameters
2632 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2633 Here's an example group parameter list:
2636 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2640 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2641 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2642 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2643 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2645 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2646 is an alist of regexps and values.
2648 The following group parameters can be used:
2653 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2656 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2659 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2660 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2661 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2662 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2663 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2665 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2666 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2667 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2668 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2669 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2670 list address instead.
2672 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2676 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2679 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2682 It is totally ignored
2683 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2684 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2686 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2687 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2688 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2689 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2690 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2692 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2693 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2694 sending the message.
2696 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2697 @cindex Mail List Groups
2698 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2699 entering summary buffer.
2701 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2706 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2707 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2708 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2709 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2710 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2711 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2713 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2714 directly uses this group parameter.
2718 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2719 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2720 of whether it has any unread articles.
2722 @item broken-reply-to
2723 @cindex broken-reply-to
2724 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2725 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2726 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2727 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2728 broken behavior. So there!
2732 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2733 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2737 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2738 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2739 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2744 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2745 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2746 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2747 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2748 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2749 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2750 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2751 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2752 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2756 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2757 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2758 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2760 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2763 @cindex total-expire
2764 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2765 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2766 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2767 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2770 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2774 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2775 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2776 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2777 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2778 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2779 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2780 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2783 @cindex score file group parameter
2784 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2785 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2786 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2789 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2790 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2791 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2792 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2795 @cindex admin-address
2796 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2797 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2798 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2799 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2803 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2804 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2808 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2811 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2812 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2815 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2819 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2821 Here are some examples:
2825 Display only unread articles.
2828 Display everything except expirable articles.
2830 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2831 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2835 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2836 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2837 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2838 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2839 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2843 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2844 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2845 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2849 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2850 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2851 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2855 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2856 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2857 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2859 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2861 @item ignored-charsets
2862 @cindex ignored-charset
2863 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2864 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2865 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2867 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2870 @cindex posting-style
2871 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2872 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2873 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2874 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2875 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2877 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2878 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2879 like this in the group parameters:
2884 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2889 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2890 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2894 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2895 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2896 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2897 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2898 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2902 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2903 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2904 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2905 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2907 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2908 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2909 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2910 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2913 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2914 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2918 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2921 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2922 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2923 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2924 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2925 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2926 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2927 @code{eval}ed there.
2929 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2930 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2931 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2932 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2933 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2934 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2935 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2936 parameters for the group.
2939 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2940 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2941 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2942 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2943 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2947 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2948 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2949 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2950 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2951 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2953 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2954 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2958 (setq gnus-parameters
2960 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2961 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2962 (gnus-summary-line-format
2963 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2967 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2971 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2975 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2978 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2979 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2982 @node Listing Groups
2983 @section Listing Groups
2984 @cindex group listing
2986 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2994 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2995 List all groups that have unread articles
2996 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2997 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2998 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2999 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3007 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3008 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3009 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3010 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3011 unsubscribed groups).
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3016 List all unread groups on a specific level
3017 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3018 with no unread articles.
3022 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3023 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3024 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3025 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3031 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3035 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3036 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3037 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3042 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3046 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3047 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3048 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3049 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3050 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3051 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3052 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3053 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3057 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3058 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3059 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3064 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3065 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3070 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3075 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3079 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3080 List groups limited within the current selection
3081 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3086 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3090 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3091 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3095 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3096 @cindex visible group parameter
3097 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3098 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3099 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3100 get the same effect.
3102 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3103 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3104 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3105 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3106 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3109 @node Sorting Groups
3110 @section Sorting Groups
3111 @cindex sorting groups
3113 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3115 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3116 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3117 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3118 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3123 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3124 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3125 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3127 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3128 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3129 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3131 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3133 Sort by group level.
3135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3137 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3141 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3142 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3144 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3145 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3146 Sort by number of unread articles.
3148 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3150 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3154 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3159 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3160 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3164 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3165 some sorting criteria:
3169 @kindex G S a (Group)
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3171 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3172 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3175 @kindex G S u (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3177 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3181 @kindex G S l (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3183 Sort the group buffer by group level
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3187 @kindex G S v (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3189 Sort the group buffer by group score
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3193 @kindex G S r (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3195 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3199 @kindex G S m (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3201 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3206 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3207 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3209 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3210 commands will sort in reverse order.
3212 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3216 @kindex G P a (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3218 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3222 @kindex G P u (Group)
3223 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3224 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3225 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3228 @kindex G P l (Group)
3229 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3230 Sort the groups by group level
3231 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3234 @kindex G P v (Group)
3235 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3236 Sort the groups by group score
3237 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3240 @kindex G P r (Group)
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3242 Sort the groups by group rank
3243 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3246 @kindex G P m (Group)
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3248 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3249 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3252 @kindex G P s (Group)
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3254 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3258 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3262 @node Group Maintenance
3263 @section Group Maintenance
3264 @cindex bogus groups
3269 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3270 Find bogus groups and delete them
3271 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3275 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3276 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3277 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3278 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3279 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3283 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3284 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3285 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3286 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3287 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3288 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3291 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3292 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3293 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3294 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3299 @node Browse Foreign Server
3300 @section Browse Foreign Server
3301 @cindex foreign servers
3302 @cindex browsing servers
3307 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3308 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3309 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3310 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3313 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3314 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3315 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3316 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3318 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3323 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3324 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3328 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3329 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3332 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3333 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3334 Enter the current group and display the first article
3335 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3338 @kindex RET (Browse)
3339 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3340 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3344 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3345 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3346 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3353 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3358 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3362 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3363 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3364 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3369 @section Exiting Gnus
3370 @cindex exiting Gnus
3372 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3377 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3378 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3379 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3380 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3384 @findex gnus-group-exit
3385 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3386 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3390 @findex gnus-group-quit
3391 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3392 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3395 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3396 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3397 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3398 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3399 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3404 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3405 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3406 trying to customize meta-variables.
3411 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3412 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3413 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3419 @section Group Topics
3422 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3423 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3424 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3425 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3426 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3427 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3431 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3432 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3443 2: alt.religion.emacs
3446 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3448 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3449 13: comp.sources.unix
3452 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3454 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3455 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3456 is a toggling command.)
3458 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3459 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3460 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3461 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3464 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3465 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3466 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3469 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3473 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3474 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3475 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3476 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3477 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3481 @node Topic Commands
3482 @subsection Topic Commands
3483 @cindex topic commands
3485 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3486 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3487 definitions slightly.
3489 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3490 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3491 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3492 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3493 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3494 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3496 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3503 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3504 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3505 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3509 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3511 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3512 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3513 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3514 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3517 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3518 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3519 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3520 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3524 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3525 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3526 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3527 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3533 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3534 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3535 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3539 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3540 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3541 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3544 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3545 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3546 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3547 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3548 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3550 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3551 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3555 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3556 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3563 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3565 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3566 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3567 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3568 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3569 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3570 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3574 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3580 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3581 Move the current group to some other topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3583 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3588 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3593 Copy the current group to some other topic
3594 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3595 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3599 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3600 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3601 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3605 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3606 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3607 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3611 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3612 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3613 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3614 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3615 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3616 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3617 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3620 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3621 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3625 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3626 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3627 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3631 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3632 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3633 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3637 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3638 Toggle hiding empty topics
3639 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3643 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3644 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3645 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3648 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3649 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3650 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3651 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3654 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3655 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3656 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3657 expiry process (if any)
3658 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3662 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3663 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3666 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3667 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3668 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3672 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3673 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3677 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3682 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3684 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3688 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3689 @cindex group parameters
3690 @cindex topic parameters
3692 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3693 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3698 @node Topic Variables
3699 @subsection Topic Variables
3700 @cindex topic variables
3702 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3703 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3705 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3706 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3707 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3720 Number of groups in the topic.
3722 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3724 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3728 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3729 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3732 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3733 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3735 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3736 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3737 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3741 @subsection Topic Sorting
3742 @cindex topic sorting
3744 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3750 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3751 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3752 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3753 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3756 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3757 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3758 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3759 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3762 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3763 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3764 Sort the current topic by group level
3765 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3768 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3769 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3770 Sort the current topic by group score
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3774 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3775 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3776 Sort the current topic by group rank
3777 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3780 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3782 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3786 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3788 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3794 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3795 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3800 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3801 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3805 @node Topic Topology
3806 @subsection Topic Topology
3807 @cindex topic topology
3810 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3816 2: alt.religion.emacs
3819 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3821 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3822 13: comp.sources.unix
3825 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3826 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3827 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3832 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3833 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3837 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3838 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3839 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3840 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3841 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3842 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3844 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3845 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3846 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3849 @node Topic Parameters
3850 @subsection Topic Parameters
3851 @cindex topic parameters
3853 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3854 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3855 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3857 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3862 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3863 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3864 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3867 @item subscribe-level
3868 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3869 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3870 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3874 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3875 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3876 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3877 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3883 2: alt.religion.emacs
3887 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3889 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3890 13: comp.sources.unix
3894 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3895 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3896 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3897 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3898 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3899 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3901 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3902 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3903 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3904 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3905 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3907 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3908 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3909 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3910 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3911 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3912 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3913 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3914 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3917 @node Misc Group Stuff
3918 @section Misc Group Stuff
3921 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3922 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3923 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3924 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3925 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3932 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3933 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3934 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3938 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3939 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3940 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3941 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3942 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3943 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3944 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3948 @findex gnus-group-mail
3949 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3950 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3951 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3952 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 @findex gnus-group-news
3957 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3958 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3959 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3961 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3962 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3963 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3964 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3965 for this to work though.
3969 Variables for the group buffer:
3973 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer has been
3978 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3979 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3980 is called after the group buffer is
3981 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3984 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3985 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3986 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3987 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3989 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3990 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3991 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3992 whether they are empty or not.
3994 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3995 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3996 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3997 non-ASCII group names.
4001 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4002 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4005 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4006 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4007 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4008 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4009 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4010 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4014 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4015 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4020 @node Scanning New Messages
4021 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4022 @cindex new messages
4023 @cindex scanning new news
4029 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4030 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4031 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4032 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4033 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4034 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4039 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4040 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4041 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4042 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4043 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4044 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4045 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4047 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4048 @cindex activating groups
4050 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4051 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4056 @findex gnus-group-restart
4057 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4058 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4059 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4063 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4064 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4066 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4067 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4071 @node Group Information
4072 @subsection Group Information
4073 @cindex group information
4074 @cindex information on groups
4081 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4082 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4085 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4086 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4087 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4088 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4089 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4090 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4091 for fetching the file.
4093 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4094 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4098 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4099 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4101 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4102 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4105 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4106 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4107 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4111 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4112 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4113 @cindex control message
4114 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4115 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4116 group if given a prefix argument.
4118 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4119 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4120 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4123 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4124 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4125 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4129 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4131 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4132 @cindex describing groups
4133 @cindex group description
4134 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4135 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4136 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4140 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4141 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4142 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4149 @findex gnus-version
4150 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4154 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4155 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4158 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4161 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4162 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4166 @node Group Timestamp
4167 @subsection Group Timestamp
4169 @cindex group timestamps
4171 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4172 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4173 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4176 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4179 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4181 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4182 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4185 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4186 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4189 This will result in lines looking like:
4192 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4193 0: custom 19961002T012713
4196 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4197 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4201 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4202 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4205 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4206 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4210 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4211 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4212 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4213 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4215 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4221 @subsection File Commands
4222 @cindex file commands
4228 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4229 @vindex gnus-init-file
4230 @cindex reading init file
4231 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4232 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4236 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4237 @cindex saving .newsrc
4238 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4239 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4240 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4243 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4244 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4245 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4250 @node Sieve Commands
4251 @subsection Sieve Commands
4252 @cindex group sieve commands
4254 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4255 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4256 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4257 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4258 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4260 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4261 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4262 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4263 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4264 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4265 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4266 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4267 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4268 regenerate the Sieve script.
4270 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4271 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4272 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4273 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4274 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4275 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4276 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4277 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4278 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4279 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4282 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4283 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4288 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4294 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4295 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4296 @cindex generating sieve script
4297 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4298 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4302 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4303 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4304 @cindex updating sieve script
4305 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4306 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4307 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4312 @node Summary Buffer
4313 @chapter Summary Buffer
4314 @cindex summary buffer
4316 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4317 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4319 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4320 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4322 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4325 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4326 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4327 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4328 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4329 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4330 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4331 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4332 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4333 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4334 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4335 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4336 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4337 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4338 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4339 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4340 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4341 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4342 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4343 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4344 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4345 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4346 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4347 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4348 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4349 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4350 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4351 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4352 or reselecting the current group.
4353 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4354 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4355 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4356 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4360 @node Summary Buffer Format
4361 @section Summary Buffer Format
4362 @cindex summary buffer format
4366 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4367 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4368 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4374 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4375 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4376 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4377 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4380 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4381 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4382 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4383 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4384 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4385 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4386 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4387 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4388 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4389 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4390 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4393 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4394 'mail-extract-address-components)
4397 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4398 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4399 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4400 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4403 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4404 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4406 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4407 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4408 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4409 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4410 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4412 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4413 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4414 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4415 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4416 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4417 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4419 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4421 The following format specification characters and extended format
4422 specification(s) are understood:
4428 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4429 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4431 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4432 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4433 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4435 Full @code{From} header.
4437 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4439 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4442 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4443 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4444 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4445 may be more thorough.
4447 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4450 Number of lines in the article.
4452 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4453 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4455 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4456 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4458 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4460 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4463 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4464 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4466 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4467 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4469 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4470 for adopted articles.
4472 One space for each thread level.
4474 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4476 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4479 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4480 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4481 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4484 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4486 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4487 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4488 default level. If the difference between
4489 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4490 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4498 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4500 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4506 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4507 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4509 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4510 article has any children.
4516 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4517 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4519 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4520 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4521 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4522 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4523 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4524 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4527 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4528 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4529 There can only be one such area.
4531 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4532 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4533 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4534 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4535 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4536 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4538 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4539 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4541 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4544 @node To From Newsgroups
4545 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4549 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4550 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4551 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4552 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4553 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4557 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4558 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4559 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4563 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4564 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4567 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4568 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4571 @findex gnus-extra-header
4572 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4573 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4574 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4577 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4581 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4582 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4583 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4584 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4585 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4586 headers are used instead.
4590 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4591 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4592 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4593 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4594 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4595 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4597 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4598 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4599 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4600 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4602 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4606 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4608 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4609 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4610 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4611 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4615 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4618 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4619 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4622 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4623 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4624 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4630 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4631 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4634 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4635 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4637 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4638 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4639 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4640 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4642 Here are the elements you can play with:
4648 Unprefixed group name.
4650 Current article number.
4652 Current article score.
4656 Number of unread articles in this group.
4658 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4661 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4662 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4663 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4664 and no unselected ones.
4666 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4667 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4669 Subject of the current article.
4671 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4673 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4675 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4677 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4679 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4681 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4685 @node Summary Highlighting
4686 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4690 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4691 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4692 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4693 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4694 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4696 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4698 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4699 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4701 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4702 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4703 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4704 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4706 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4707 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4708 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4709 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4710 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4711 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4714 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4715 ((> score default) . bold))
4717 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4718 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4722 @node Summary Maneuvering
4723 @section Summary Maneuvering
4724 @cindex summary movement
4726 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4727 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4729 None of these commands select articles.
4734 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4735 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4736 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4737 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4738 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4742 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4743 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4744 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4745 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4746 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4749 @kindex G g (Summary)
4750 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4751 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4752 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4755 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4756 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4757 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4758 to the group buffer.
4760 Variables related to summary movement:
4764 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4765 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4766 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4767 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4768 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4769 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4770 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4771 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4772 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4773 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4774 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4775 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4776 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4777 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4779 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4780 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4781 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4782 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4783 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4784 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4785 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4787 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4789 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4790 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4791 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4792 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4793 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4795 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4796 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4797 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4798 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4799 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4800 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4801 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4802 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4805 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4806 the given number of lines from the top.
4811 @node Choosing Articles
4812 @section Choosing Articles
4813 @cindex selecting articles
4816 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4817 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4821 @node Choosing Commands
4822 @subsection Choosing Commands
4824 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4825 and they all select and display an article.
4827 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4828 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4832 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4833 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4834 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4835 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4840 @kindex G n (Summary)
4841 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4842 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4843 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4848 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4849 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4850 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4855 @kindex G N (Summary)
4856 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4857 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4862 @kindex G P (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4864 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4867 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4868 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4869 Go to the next article with the same subject
4870 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4873 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4874 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4875 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4876 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4880 @kindex G f (Summary)
4882 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4883 Go to the first unread article
4884 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4888 @kindex G b (Summary)
4890 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4891 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4892 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4893 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4898 @kindex G l (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4900 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4903 @kindex G o (Summary)
4904 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4906 @cindex article history
4907 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4908 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4909 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4910 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4911 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4912 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4917 @kindex G j (Summary)
4918 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4919 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4920 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4925 @node Choosing Variables
4926 @subsection Choosing Variables
4928 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4931 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4932 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4933 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4934 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4935 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4936 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4938 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4939 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4940 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4941 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4943 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4944 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4945 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4946 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4947 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4948 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4949 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4950 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4951 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4952 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4953 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4954 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4955 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4956 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4961 @node Paging the Article
4962 @section Scrolling the Article
4963 @cindex article scrolling
4968 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4969 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4970 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4971 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4972 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4975 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4977 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4980 @kindex RET (Summary)
4981 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4982 Scroll the current article one line forward
4983 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4986 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4988 Scroll the current article one line backward
4989 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4993 @kindex A g (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4996 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4997 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4998 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4999 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5000 the way it came from the server.
5002 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5003 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5004 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5007 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5012 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5017 @kindex A < (Summary)
5018 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5019 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5020 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5025 @kindex A > (Summary)
5026 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5027 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5031 @kindex A s (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5034 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5035 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5039 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5040 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5045 @node Reply Followup and Post
5046 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5049 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5050 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5051 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5052 * Canceling and Superseding::
5056 @node Summary Mail Commands
5057 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5059 @cindex composing mail
5061 Commands for composing a mail message:
5067 @kindex S r (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5070 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5071 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5072 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5073 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5078 @kindex S R (Summary)
5079 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5080 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5081 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5082 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5083 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5086 @kindex S w (Summary)
5087 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5088 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5089 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5090 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5091 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5094 @kindex S W (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5096 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5097 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5098 the process/prefix convention.
5101 @kindex S v (Summary)
5102 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5103 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5104 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5105 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5106 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5107 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5110 @kindex S V (Summary)
5111 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5112 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5113 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5114 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5117 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5118 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5119 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5120 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5123 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5125 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5126 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5127 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5131 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5132 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5133 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5134 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5135 Forward the current article to some other person
5136 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5137 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5138 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5139 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5140 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5141 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5142 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5143 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5144 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5150 @kindex S m (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5152 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5153 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5154 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5155 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5160 @kindex S i (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5162 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5163 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5164 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5166 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5167 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5168 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5169 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5170 for this to work though.
5173 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5174 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5175 @cindex bouncing mail
5176 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5177 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5178 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5179 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5180 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5181 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5182 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5183 very well fail, though.
5186 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5187 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5188 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5189 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5190 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5191 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5192 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5193 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5194 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5195 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5197 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5198 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5199 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5200 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5201 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5203 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5204 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5207 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5209 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5210 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5211 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5214 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5216 @cindex crossposting
5217 @cindex excessive crossposting
5218 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5219 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5221 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5222 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5223 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5224 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5225 command understands the process/prefix convention
5226 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5230 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5231 Manual}, for more information.
5234 @node Summary Post Commands
5235 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5237 @cindex composing news
5239 Commands for posting a news article:
5245 @kindex S p (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5247 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5248 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5249 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5250 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5255 @kindex S f (Summary)
5256 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5257 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5258 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5262 @kindex S F (Summary)
5264 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5265 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5266 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5267 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5268 process/prefix convention.
5271 @kindex S n (Summary)
5272 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5273 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5274 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5277 @kindex S N (Summary)
5278 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5279 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5280 message through mail and include the original message
5281 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5282 the process/prefix convention.
5285 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5287 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5288 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5289 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5290 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5291 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5292 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5293 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5294 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5295 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5296 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5297 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5300 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5303 @cindex making digests
5304 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5305 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5306 process/prefix convention.
5309 @kindex S u (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5311 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5312 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5313 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5316 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5317 Manual}, for more information.
5320 @node Summary Message Commands
5321 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5325 @kindex S y (Summary)
5326 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5327 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5328 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5329 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5330 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5335 @node Canceling and Superseding
5336 @subsection Canceling Articles
5337 @cindex canceling articles
5338 @cindex superseding articles
5340 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5341 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5343 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5345 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5347 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5348 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5349 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5350 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5351 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5352 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5354 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5355 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5358 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5359 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5360 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5362 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5363 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5364 your original article.
5366 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5368 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5369 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5370 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5373 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5374 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5375 have posted almost the same article twice.
5377 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5378 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5379 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5380 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5381 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5382 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5383 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5384 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5385 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5386 canceled/superseded.
5388 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5390 @node Delayed Articles
5391 @section Delayed Articles
5392 @cindex delayed sending
5393 @cindex send delayed
5395 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5396 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5397 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5398 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5401 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5404 @findex gnus-delay-article
5405 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5406 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5407 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5408 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5412 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5413 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5414 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5415 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5418 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5419 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5420 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5423 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5424 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5425 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5426 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5427 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5428 that means a time tomorrow.
5431 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5432 couple of variables:
5435 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5437 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5438 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5440 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5441 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5442 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5443 formats described above.
5445 @item gnus-delay-group
5446 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5447 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5448 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5449 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5451 @item gnus-delay-header
5452 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5453 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5454 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5455 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5458 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5459 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5460 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5461 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5462 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5464 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5465 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5466 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5467 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5468 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5469 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5472 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5473 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5474 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5475 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5476 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5477 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5478 argument is ignored.
5480 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5481 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5482 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5486 @node Marking Articles
5487 @section Marking Articles
5488 @cindex article marking
5489 @cindex article ticking
5492 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5494 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5495 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5496 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5498 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5501 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5502 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5503 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5507 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5511 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5512 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5513 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5517 @node Unread Articles
5518 @subsection Unread Articles
5520 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5525 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5526 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5528 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5529 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5530 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5531 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5532 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5533 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5534 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5537 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5538 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5540 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5541 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5542 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5543 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5547 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5548 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5550 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5555 @subsection Read Articles
5556 @cindex expirable mark
5558 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5563 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5564 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5565 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5568 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5569 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5572 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5573 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5574 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5577 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5578 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5581 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5582 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5585 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5586 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5589 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5590 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5593 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5594 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5597 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5598 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5601 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5602 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5606 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5607 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5608 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5612 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5613 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5615 One more special mark, though:
5619 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5620 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5622 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5623 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5624 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5625 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5631 @subsection Other Marks
5632 @cindex process mark
5635 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5641 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5642 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5643 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5644 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5645 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5648 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5649 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5650 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5651 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5654 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5655 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5656 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5659 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5660 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5661 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5664 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5665 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5666 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5667 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5670 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5671 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5672 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5673 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5674 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5675 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5678 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5679 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5680 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5681 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5684 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5685 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5686 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5687 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5688 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5689 which character to use.)
5692 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5693 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5694 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5695 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5696 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5697 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5701 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5702 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5703 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5704 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5705 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5708 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5709 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5710 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5711 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5712 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5713 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5717 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5718 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5719 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5721 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5722 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5723 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5727 @subsection Setting Marks
5728 @cindex setting marks
5730 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5735 @kindex M c (Summary)
5736 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5737 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5738 @cindex mark as unread
5739 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5740 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5746 @kindex M t (Summary)
5747 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5748 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5749 @xref{Article Caching}.
5754 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5755 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5756 Mark the current article as dormant
5757 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5761 @kindex M d (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5764 Mark the current article as read
5765 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5769 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5770 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5771 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5776 @kindex M k (Summary)
5777 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5778 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5779 and then select the next unread article
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5784 @kindex M K (Summary)
5785 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5786 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5787 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5788 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5791 @kindex M C (Summary)
5792 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5793 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5794 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5797 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5798 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5799 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5800 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5803 @kindex M H (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5805 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5806 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5809 @kindex M h (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5811 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5812 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5815 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5817 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5818 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5821 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5823 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5824 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5828 @kindex M e (Summary)
5830 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5831 Mark the current article as expirable
5832 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5835 @kindex M b (Summary)
5836 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5837 Set a bookmark in the current article
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5841 @kindex M B (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5843 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5844 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5847 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5848 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5849 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5850 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5853 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5855 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5856 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5859 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5860 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5861 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5862 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5863 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5866 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5867 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5868 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5869 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5870 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5871 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5872 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5873 The default is @code{t}.
5876 @node Generic Marking Commands
5877 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5879 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5880 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5881 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5882 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5883 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5886 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5887 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5890 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5891 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5892 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5893 to list in this manual.
5895 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5896 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5897 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5898 article, you could say something like:
5901 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5902 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5903 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5909 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5910 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5914 @node Setting Process Marks
5915 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5916 @cindex setting process marks
5923 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5925 Mark the current article with the process mark
5926 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5927 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5931 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5932 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5933 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5934 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5937 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5939 Remove the process mark from all articles
5940 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5943 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5945 Invert the list of process marked articles
5946 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5949 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5951 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5952 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5955 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5957 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5958 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5961 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5962 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5963 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5967 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5968 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5971 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5972 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5973 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5974 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5977 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5978 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5979 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5980 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5983 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5984 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5985 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5986 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5989 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5991 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5994 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5995 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5996 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5997 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6000 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6001 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6002 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6005 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6006 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6007 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6008 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6011 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6012 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6013 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6014 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6017 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6018 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6019 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6020 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6023 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6024 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6025 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6026 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6030 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6031 set process marks based on article body contents.
6038 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6039 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6040 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6043 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6044 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6045 additional articles.
6051 @kindex / / (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6053 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6054 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6058 @kindex / a (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6060 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6061 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6065 @kindex / x (Summary)
6066 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6067 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6068 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6069 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6074 @kindex / u (Summary)
6076 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6077 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6078 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6079 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6080 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6083 @kindex / m (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6085 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6086 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6089 @kindex / t (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6091 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6092 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6093 articles younger than that number of days.
6096 @kindex / n (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6098 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6099 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6100 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6103 @kindex / w (Summary)
6104 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6105 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6106 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6110 @kindex / . (Summary)
6111 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6112 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6113 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6116 @kindex / v (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6118 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6119 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6122 @kindex / p (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6124 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6125 group parameter predicate
6126 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6127 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6131 @kindex M S (Summary)
6132 @kindex / E (Summary)
6133 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6134 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6135 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6138 @kindex / D (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6140 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6144 @kindex / * (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6146 Include all cached articles in the limit
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6150 @kindex / d (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6152 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6153 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6156 @kindex / M (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6158 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6161 @kindex / T (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6163 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6166 @kindex / c (Summary)
6167 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6168 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6169 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6172 @kindex / C (Summary)
6173 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6174 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6175 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6176 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6179 @kindex / N (Summary)
6180 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6181 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6182 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6185 @kindex / o (Summary)
6186 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6187 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6188 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6196 @cindex article threading
6198 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6199 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6200 hierarchical fashion.
6202 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6203 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6204 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6205 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6206 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6207 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6208 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6210 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6214 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6217 A tree-like article structure.
6220 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6223 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6224 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6225 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6226 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6227 called loose threads.
6229 @item thread gathering
6230 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6232 @item sparse threads
6233 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6234 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6240 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6241 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6245 @node Customizing Threading
6246 @subsection Customizing Threading
6247 @cindex customizing threading
6250 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6251 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6252 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6253 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6258 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6261 @cindex loose threads
6264 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6265 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6266 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6267 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6268 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6269 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6271 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6272 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6273 There are four possible values:
6277 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6278 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6279 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6280 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6281 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6286 @cindex adopting articles
6291 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6292 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6293 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6294 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6297 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6298 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6299 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6300 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6301 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6302 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6303 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6304 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6305 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6306 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to t.
6309 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6310 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6311 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6315 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6316 display them after one another.
6319 Don't gather loose threads.
6322 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6323 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6324 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6325 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6326 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6327 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6328 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6329 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6330 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6331 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6332 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6334 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6335 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6336 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6339 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6340 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6341 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6342 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6343 simplification is used.
6345 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6346 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6347 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6348 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6350 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6352 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6358 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6359 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6360 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6361 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6366 (mapconcat 'identity
6367 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6369 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6372 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6375 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6376 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6377 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6378 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6379 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6380 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6382 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6385 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6386 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6387 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6389 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6390 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6393 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6394 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6395 Remove excessive whitespace.
6397 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6398 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6399 Remove all whitespace.
6402 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6405 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6406 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6407 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6408 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6409 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6410 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6411 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6412 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6414 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6415 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6416 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6417 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6418 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6419 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6420 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6421 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6422 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6426 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6427 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6428 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6429 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6431 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6432 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6433 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6436 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6440 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6441 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6447 @node Filling In Threads
6448 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6451 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6452 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6453 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6454 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6455 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6456 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6457 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6458 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6459 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6460 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6461 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6462 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6465 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6466 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6467 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6469 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6470 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6471 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6472 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6473 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6474 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6475 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6476 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6477 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6478 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6479 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6480 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6481 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6482 @code{nil} by default.
6484 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6485 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6486 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6487 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6488 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6489 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6490 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6492 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6493 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6494 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6499 @node More Threading
6500 @subsubsection More Threading
6503 @item gnus-show-threads
6504 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6505 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6506 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6507 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6508 slower and more awkward.
6510 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6511 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6512 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6515 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6516 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6517 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6522 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6523 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6524 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6527 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6528 unread, but you get my drift.)
6531 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6532 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6533 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6534 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6535 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6536 threads are expunged.
6538 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6539 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6540 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6543 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6544 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6545 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6546 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6547 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6548 result in a new thread.
6550 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6551 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6552 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6555 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6556 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6557 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6558 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6559 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6560 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6561 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6562 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6563 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6564 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6565 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6570 @node Low-Level Threading
6571 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6575 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6576 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6577 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6579 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6580 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6581 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6582 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6583 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6584 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6585 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6586 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6587 meaningful. Here's one example:
6590 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6592 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6593 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6595 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6597 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6604 @node Thread Commands
6605 @subsection Thread Commands
6606 @cindex thread commands
6612 @kindex T k (Summary)
6613 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6615 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6616 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6617 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6622 @kindex T l (Summary)
6623 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6624 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6625 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6626 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6629 @kindex T i (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6631 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6635 @kindex T # (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6637 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6638 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6641 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6642 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6643 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6644 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6647 @kindex T T (Summary)
6648 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6649 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6652 @kindex T s (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6654 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6655 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6658 @kindex T h (Summary)
6659 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6660 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6663 @kindex T S (Summary)
6664 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6665 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6668 @kindex T H (Summary)
6669 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6670 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6673 @kindex T t (Summary)
6674 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6675 Re-thread the current article's thread
6676 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6677 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6680 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6681 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6682 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6683 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6687 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6688 understand the numeric prefix.
6693 @kindex T n (Summary)
6695 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6697 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6699 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6702 @kindex T p (Summary)
6704 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6706 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6708 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6711 @kindex T d (Summary)
6712 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6713 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6716 @kindex T u (Summary)
6717 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6718 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6721 @kindex T o (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6723 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6726 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6727 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6728 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6729 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6730 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6731 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6732 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6733 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6734 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6735 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6736 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6737 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6741 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6742 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6744 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6745 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6746 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6747 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6748 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6749 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6750 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6751 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6752 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6753 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6754 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6755 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6756 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6758 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6759 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6760 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6761 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6762 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6763 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6764 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6765 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6767 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6768 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6769 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6771 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6772 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6773 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6774 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6775 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6776 ascending article order.
6778 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6779 by number, you could do something like:
6782 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6783 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6784 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6785 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6788 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6789 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6790 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6791 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6792 which the articles arrived.
6794 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6798 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6800 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6801 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6804 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6805 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6806 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6807 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6810 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6811 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6812 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6813 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6814 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6815 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6816 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6817 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6818 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6819 variable. It is very similar to the
6820 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6821 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6822 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6823 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6824 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6825 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6826 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6828 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6832 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6833 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6834 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6839 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6840 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6841 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6842 @cindex article pre-fetch
6845 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6846 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6847 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6848 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6849 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6851 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6852 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6854 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6855 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6856 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6857 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6858 connection is blocked.
6860 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6861 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6862 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6863 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6865 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6866 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6867 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6868 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6871 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6874 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6875 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6876 happen automatically.
6878 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6879 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6880 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6881 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6882 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6883 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6884 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6886 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6887 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6888 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6889 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6890 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6891 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6892 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6893 data structure as the only parameter.
6895 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6898 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6899 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6900 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6901 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6904 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6907 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6908 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6909 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6911 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6912 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6913 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6914 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6918 Remove articles when they are read.
6921 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6924 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6926 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6927 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6928 @c from the next group.
6931 @node Article Caching
6932 @section Article Caching
6933 @cindex article caching
6936 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6937 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6938 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6939 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6940 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6942 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6944 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6945 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6946 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6947 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6948 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6949 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6950 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6951 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6953 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6954 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6955 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6956 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6957 as dormant, and don't worry.
6959 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6961 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6962 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6963 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6964 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6965 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6966 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6967 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6968 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6969 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6970 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6972 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6973 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6974 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6975 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6976 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6977 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6978 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6979 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6980 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6981 not then be downloaded by this command.
6983 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6984 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6985 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6986 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6987 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6988 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6990 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6991 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6992 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6993 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6994 variables, the group is not cached.
6996 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6997 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6998 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6999 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7000 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7001 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7002 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7003 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7004 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7007 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7008 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7009 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7010 where, isn't that cool?
7012 @node Persistent Articles
7013 @section Persistent Articles
7014 @cindex persistent articles
7016 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7017 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7018 useful in my opinion.
7020 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7021 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7022 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7023 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7024 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7025 the expiry going on at the news server.
7027 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7028 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7029 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7035 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7036 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7039 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7040 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7041 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7042 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7046 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7048 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7049 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7050 interested in persistent articles:
7053 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7057 @node Article Backlog
7058 @section Article Backlog
7060 @cindex article backlog
7062 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7063 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7064 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7065 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7066 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7067 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7068 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7069 increase memory usage some.
7071 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7072 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7073 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7074 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7075 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7076 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7077 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7079 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7082 @node Saving Articles
7083 @section Saving Articles
7084 @cindex saving articles
7086 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7087 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7088 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7089 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7090 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7092 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7093 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7094 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7096 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7097 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7098 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7100 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7101 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7102 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7103 deleted before saving.
7109 @kindex O o (Summary)
7111 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7112 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7113 Save the current article using the default article saver
7114 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7117 @kindex O m (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7119 Save the current article in mail format
7120 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7123 @kindex O r (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7125 Save the current article in rmail format
7126 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7129 @kindex O f (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7131 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7132 Save the current article in plain file format
7133 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7136 @kindex O F (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7138 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7139 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7142 @kindex O b (Summary)
7143 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7144 Save the current article body in plain file format
7145 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7148 @kindex O h (Summary)
7149 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7150 Save the current article in mh folder format
7151 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7154 @kindex O v (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7156 Save the current article in a VM folder
7157 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7161 @kindex O p (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7164 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7165 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7168 @kindex O P (Summary)
7169 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7170 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7171 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7172 external program Muttprint (see
7173 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7174 options to use is controlled by the variable
7175 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7179 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7180 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7181 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7182 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7183 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7184 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7185 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7186 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7187 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7188 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7189 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7190 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7194 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7195 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7196 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7197 functions below, or you can create your own.
7201 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7202 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7203 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7204 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7205 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7206 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7207 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7209 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7210 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7211 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7212 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7213 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7214 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7216 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7217 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7218 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7219 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7220 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7221 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7222 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7224 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7225 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7226 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7227 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7228 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7229 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7231 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7233 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7234 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7235 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7237 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7238 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7239 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7240 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7241 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7244 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7245 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7246 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7247 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7248 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7250 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7251 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7252 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7253 reader to use this setting.
7256 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7257 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7258 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7259 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7262 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7263 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7264 available functions that generate names:
7268 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7269 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7270 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7272 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7273 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7274 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7276 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7277 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7278 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7280 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7281 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7282 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7284 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7285 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7286 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7289 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7290 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7291 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7292 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7293 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7297 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7298 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7299 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7300 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7303 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7304 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7305 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7306 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7307 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7308 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7309 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7310 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7311 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7313 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7314 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7315 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7316 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7318 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7319 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7320 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7323 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7324 lots of mail groups called things like
7325 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7326 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7327 following will do just that:
7330 (defun my-save-name (group)
7331 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7332 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7334 (setq gnus-split-methods
7335 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7340 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7341 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7342 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7343 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7344 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7345 all the files in the top level directory
7346 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7347 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7348 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7349 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7351 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7352 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7353 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7354 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7355 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7358 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7362 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7363 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7364 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7367 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7368 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7369 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7370 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7373 @node Decoding Articles
7374 @section Decoding Articles
7375 @cindex decoding articles
7377 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7378 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7381 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7382 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7383 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7384 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7385 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7386 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7390 @cindex article series
7391 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7392 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7393 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7394 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7395 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7397 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7398 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7399 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7401 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7402 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7403 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7405 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7406 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7407 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7410 @node Uuencoded Articles
7411 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7413 @cindex uuencoded articles
7418 @kindex X u (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7420 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7421 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7424 @kindex X U (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7426 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7427 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7430 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7431 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7432 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7435 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7436 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7437 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7438 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7442 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7443 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7444 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7445 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7446 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7448 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7449 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7450 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7451 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7454 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7455 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7456 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7457 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7458 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7459 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7463 @node Shell Archives
7464 @subsection Shell Archives
7466 @cindex shell archives
7467 @cindex shared articles
7469 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7470 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7471 some commands to deal with these:
7476 @kindex X s (Summary)
7477 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7478 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7481 @kindex X S (Summary)
7482 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7483 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7486 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7487 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7488 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7491 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7492 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7493 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7494 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7498 @node PostScript Files
7499 @subsection PostScript Files
7505 @kindex X p (Summary)
7506 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7507 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7510 @kindex X P (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7512 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7513 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7516 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7518 View the current PostScript series
7519 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7522 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7523 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7524 View and save the current PostScript series
7525 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7530 @subsection Other Files
7534 @kindex X o (Summary)
7535 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7536 Save the current series
7537 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7540 @kindex X b (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7542 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7543 doesn't really work yet.
7547 @node Decoding Variables
7548 @subsection Decoding Variables
7550 Adjective, not verb.
7553 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7554 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7555 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7559 @node Rule Variables
7560 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7561 @cindex rule variables
7563 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7564 variables are of the form
7567 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7574 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7575 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7577 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7578 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7581 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7582 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7585 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7586 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7587 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7588 user and default view rules.
7590 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7591 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7592 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7597 @node Other Decode Variables
7598 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7601 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7603 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7604 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7605 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7606 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7607 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7611 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7612 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7615 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7616 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7617 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7620 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7621 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7622 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7623 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7624 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7627 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7628 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7629 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7631 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7632 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7633 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7634 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7635 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7638 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7639 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7640 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7642 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7643 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7644 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7645 looking for files to display.
7647 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7648 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7649 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7652 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7653 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7654 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7657 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7658 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7659 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7662 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7663 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7664 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7667 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7668 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7669 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7670 decoded articles as unread.
7672 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7673 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7674 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7675 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7677 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7678 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7679 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7681 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7684 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7685 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7686 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7687 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7689 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7690 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7691 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7692 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7693 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7694 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7695 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7696 simply dropped them.
7701 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7702 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7706 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7707 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7708 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7709 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7710 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7711 for you when you post the article.
7713 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7714 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7715 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7716 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7718 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7719 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7720 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7721 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7722 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7723 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7724 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7726 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7727 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7728 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7729 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7730 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7731 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7732 Default is @code{t}.
7738 @subsection Viewing Files
7739 @cindex viewing files
7740 @cindex pseudo-articles
7742 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7743 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7744 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7745 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7746 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7747 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7748 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7750 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7751 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7752 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7753 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7755 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7756 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7757 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7759 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7760 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7761 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7762 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7763 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7765 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7766 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7767 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7768 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7769 a list of parameters to that command.
7771 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7772 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7773 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7775 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7776 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7777 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7780 @node Article Treatment
7781 @section Article Treatment
7783 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7784 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7785 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7786 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7787 these articles easier.
7790 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7791 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7792 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7793 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7794 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7795 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7796 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7797 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7798 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7799 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7803 @node Article Highlighting
7804 @subsection Article Highlighting
7805 @cindex highlighting
7807 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7808 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7813 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7814 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7815 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7816 Do much highlighting of the current article
7817 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7818 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7821 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7822 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7823 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7824 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7825 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7826 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7827 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7828 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7829 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7830 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7831 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7832 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7835 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7836 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7837 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7839 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7842 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7844 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7845 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7846 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7848 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7849 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7850 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7852 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7853 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7854 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7855 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7856 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7857 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7859 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7860 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7861 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7863 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7864 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7865 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7867 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7868 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7869 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7870 that it's a citation.
7872 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7873 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7874 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7876 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7877 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7878 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7880 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7881 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7882 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7883 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7889 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7890 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7891 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7892 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7893 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7894 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7895 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7896 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7901 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7904 @node Article Fontisizing
7905 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7907 @cindex article emphasis
7909 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7910 @kindex W e (Summary)
7911 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7912 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7913 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7914 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7916 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7917 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7918 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7919 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7920 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7921 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7922 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7923 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7927 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7928 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7929 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7938 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7939 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7940 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7941 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7942 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7943 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7944 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7945 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7946 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7947 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7948 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7949 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7950 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7952 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7953 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7954 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7958 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7961 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7963 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7964 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7965 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7966 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7968 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7971 @node Article Hiding
7972 @subsection Article Hiding
7973 @cindex article hiding
7975 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7976 too much cruft in most articles.
7981 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7982 @findex gnus-article-hide
7983 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7984 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7985 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7988 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7989 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7990 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7994 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7996 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7997 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8000 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8002 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8006 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8007 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8008 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8009 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8010 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8011 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8012 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8013 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8017 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8018 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8019 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8020 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8025 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8026 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8027 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8028 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8029 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8030 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8031 articles that have signatures in them do:
8033 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8035 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8037 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8038 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8040 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8043 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8048 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8049 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8050 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8051 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8054 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8055 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8056 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8057 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8060 @cindex stripping advertisements
8061 @cindex advertisements
8062 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8063 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8064 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8065 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8066 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8067 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8068 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8069 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8070 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8071 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8074 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8075 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8076 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8080 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8081 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8082 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8083 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8084 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8085 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8086 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8087 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8088 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8089 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8090 following element to remove them:
8093 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8099 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8101 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8102 customizing the hiding:
8106 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8107 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8108 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8109 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8110 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8111 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8112 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8117 Starting point of the hidden text.
8119 Ending point of the hidden text.
8121 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8123 Number of lines of hidden text.
8126 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8127 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8128 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8129 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8130 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8135 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8136 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8138 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8139 following two variables:
8142 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8143 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8144 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8145 50), hide the cited text.
8147 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8148 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8149 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8154 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8155 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8156 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8157 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8158 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8159 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8163 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8164 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8165 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8167 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8168 citation customization.
8170 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8174 @node Article Washing
8175 @subsection Article Washing
8177 @cindex article washing
8179 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8180 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8182 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8183 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8186 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8187 articles by default.
8192 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8193 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8197 @kindex W l (Summary)
8198 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8199 Remove page breaks from the current article
8200 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8204 @kindex W r (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8206 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8207 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8208 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8209 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8210 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8212 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8213 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8214 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8215 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8218 @kindex W m (Summary)
8219 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8220 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8221 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8225 @kindex W t (Summary)
8227 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8228 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8229 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8232 @kindex W v (Summary)
8233 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8234 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8235 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8238 @kindex W o (Summary)
8239 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8240 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8243 @kindex W d (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8245 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8247 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8249 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8250 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8251 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8252 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8255 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8256 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8257 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8258 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8261 @kindex W k (Summary)
8262 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8263 @cindex Outlook Express
8264 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8265 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8268 @kindex W w (Summary)
8269 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8270 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8272 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8276 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8277 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8278 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8281 @kindex W C (Summary)
8282 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8283 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8284 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8287 @kindex W c (Summary)
8288 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8289 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8290 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8291 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8292 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8295 @kindex W q (Summary)
8296 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8297 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8298 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8299 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8300 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8301 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8302 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8303 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8304 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8307 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8308 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8309 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8310 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8311 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8312 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8313 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8315 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8318 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8320 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8321 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8322 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8325 @kindex W u (Summary)
8326 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8327 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8328 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8329 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8330 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8333 @kindex W h (Summary)
8334 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8335 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8336 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8337 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8339 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8341 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8342 The default is to use the function specified by
8343 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8344 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8345 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8353 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8357 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8360 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8363 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8368 @kindex W b (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8370 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8371 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8374 @kindex W B (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8376 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8377 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8380 @kindex W p (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8382 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8383 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8384 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8385 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8386 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8387 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8390 @kindex W s (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8392 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8393 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8396 @kindex W a (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8398 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8399 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8402 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8403 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8404 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8405 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8408 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8409 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8410 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8411 lines with a single empty line.
8412 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8415 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8416 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8417 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8418 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8421 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8422 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8423 Do all the three commands above
8424 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8427 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8428 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8429 Remove all blank lines
8430 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8433 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8434 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8435 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8436 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8439 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8440 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8441 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8442 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8446 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8449 @node Article Header
8450 @subsection Article Header
8452 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8457 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8458 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8459 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8462 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8464 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8465 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8468 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8469 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8470 Fold all the message headers
8471 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8475 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8476 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8477 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8482 @node Article Buttons
8483 @subsection Article Buttons
8486 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8487 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8488 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8489 button on these references.
8491 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8492 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8493 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8494 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8495 one that handles article heads:
8499 @item gnus-button-alist
8500 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8501 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8504 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8510 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8511 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8512 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8513 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8516 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8517 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8518 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8521 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8522 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8523 avoid false matches.
8526 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8529 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8530 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8534 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8537 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8540 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8541 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8542 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8543 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8544 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8547 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8550 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8552 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8553 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8554 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8555 default values of the variables above.
8557 @item gnus-article-button-face
8558 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8559 Face used on buttons.
8561 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8562 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8563 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8567 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8571 @subsection Article Date
8573 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8574 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8575 when the article was sent.
8580 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8581 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8582 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8583 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8586 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8587 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8589 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8590 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8593 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8594 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8595 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8598 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8599 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8600 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8601 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8604 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8605 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8606 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8607 @findex format-time-string
8608 Display the date using a user-defined format
8609 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8610 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8611 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8612 for a list of possible format specs.
8615 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8616 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8617 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8618 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8619 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8620 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8623 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8626 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8627 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8630 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8631 into wonderful absurdities.
8633 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8636 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8639 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8640 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8644 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8645 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8646 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8647 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8648 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8649 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8650 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8654 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8655 preferred format automatically.
8658 @node Article Display
8659 @subsection Article Display
8664 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8665 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8667 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8668 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8670 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8671 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8673 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8674 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8676 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8681 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8682 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8683 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8684 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8687 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8689 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8692 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8694 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8697 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8698 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8699 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8700 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8703 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8704 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8705 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8706 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8709 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8710 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8711 Remove all images from the article buffer
8712 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8718 @node Article Signature
8719 @subsection Article Signature
8721 @cindex article signature
8723 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8724 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8725 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8726 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8727 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8728 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8729 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8730 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8731 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8734 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8735 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8736 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8737 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8738 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8739 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8740 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8741 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8744 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8747 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8748 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8749 signature when displaying articles.
8753 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8756 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8759 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8760 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8762 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8763 in question is not a signature.
8766 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8767 listed above. Here's an example:
8770 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8771 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8774 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8775 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8776 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8777 signature after all.
8780 @node Article Miscellania
8781 @subsection Article Miscellania
8785 @kindex A t (Summary)
8786 @findex gnus-article-babel
8787 Translate the article from one language to another
8788 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8794 @section MIME Commands
8795 @cindex MIME decoding
8797 @cindex viewing attachments
8799 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8800 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8806 @kindex K v (Summary)
8807 View the @sc{mime} part.
8810 @kindex K o (Summary)
8811 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8814 @kindex K c (Summary)
8815 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8818 @kindex K e (Summary)
8819 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8822 @kindex K i (Summary)
8823 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8826 @kindex K | (Summary)
8827 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8830 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8835 @kindex K b (Summary)
8836 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8837 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8841 @kindex K m (Summary)
8842 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8843 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8844 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8845 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8846 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8849 @kindex X m (Summary)
8850 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8851 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8852 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8853 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8856 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8857 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8858 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8859 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8862 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8863 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8864 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8865 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8868 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8869 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8870 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8871 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8873 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8874 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8875 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8876 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8877 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8878 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8881 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8882 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8883 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8884 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8891 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8892 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8893 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8894 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8897 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8900 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8904 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8905 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8906 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8907 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8908 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8909 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8912 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8913 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8914 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8915 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8916 displayed. This variable overrides
8917 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8919 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8920 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8921 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
8923 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
8924 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
8925 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
8926 value is @code{nil}.
8928 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8929 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8930 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8931 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8932 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8933 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8934 save all jpegs into some directory).
8936 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8939 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8940 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8942 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8943 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8944 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8945 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8946 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8949 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8950 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8951 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8953 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8954 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8955 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8956 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8958 Ready-made functions include@*
8959 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8960 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8961 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8962 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8963 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8964 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8965 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8966 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8967 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8968 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8969 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8970 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8972 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8973 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8975 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8976 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8977 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8980 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8981 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8982 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8983 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8987 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8996 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8997 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8998 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8999 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9000 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9001 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9002 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9004 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9005 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9006 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9007 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9009 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9010 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9011 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9012 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9013 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9014 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9015 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9016 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9018 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9019 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9020 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9021 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9022 quoted-printable header encoding.
9024 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9025 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9026 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9030 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9033 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9034 means encode all charsets),
9036 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9037 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9038 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9045 @cindex coding system aliases
9046 @cindex preferred charset
9048 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9050 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9051 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9054 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9055 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9058 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9059 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9061 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9064 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9067 This will almost do the right thing.
9069 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9073 (codepage-setup 1251)
9074 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9078 @node Article Commands
9079 @section Article Commands
9086 @kindex A P (Summary)
9087 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9088 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9089 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9090 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9091 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9092 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9097 @node Summary Sorting
9098 @section Summary Sorting
9099 @cindex summary sorting
9101 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9102 can't really see why you'd want that.
9107 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9108 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9109 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9112 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9114 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9117 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9118 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9119 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9122 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9123 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9124 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9127 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9128 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9129 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9132 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9133 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9134 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9137 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9138 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9139 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9142 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9143 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9144 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9147 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9148 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9149 Sort using the default sorting method
9150 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9153 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9154 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9155 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9156 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9157 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9161 @node Finding the Parent
9162 @section Finding the Parent
9163 @cindex parent articles
9164 @cindex referring articles
9169 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9170 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9171 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9172 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9173 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9174 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9175 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9176 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9177 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9179 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9180 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9181 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9182 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9183 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9187 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9188 @kindex A R (Summary)
9189 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9190 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9193 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9194 @kindex A T (Summary)
9195 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9196 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9197 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9198 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9199 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9200 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9201 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9203 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9204 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9205 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9206 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9207 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9208 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9211 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9212 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9214 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9215 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9216 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9217 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9218 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9219 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9220 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9223 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9224 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9225 by giving this command a prefix.
9227 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9228 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9229 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9230 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9231 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9232 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9235 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9236 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9237 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9240 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9241 then ask Google if that fails:
9244 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9246 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9249 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9250 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9251 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9252 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9253 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9254 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9255 support this at all.
9258 @node Alternative Approaches
9259 @section Alternative Approaches
9261 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9262 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9265 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9266 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9271 @subsection Pick and Read
9272 @cindex pick and read
9274 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9275 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9276 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9277 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9279 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9280 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9281 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9282 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9283 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9284 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9286 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9291 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9292 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9293 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9294 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9295 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9296 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9297 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9298 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9301 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9302 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9303 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9304 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9308 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9309 Unpick the thread or article
9310 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9311 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9312 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9313 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9314 the thread or article at that line.
9318 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9319 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9320 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9321 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9322 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9323 will still be visible when you are reading.
9327 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9328 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9329 which is mapped to the same function
9330 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9332 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9335 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9338 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9339 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9341 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9342 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9343 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9345 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9346 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9347 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9348 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9349 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9350 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9351 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9355 @subsection Binary Groups
9356 @cindex binary groups
9358 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9359 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9360 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9361 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9362 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9363 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9364 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9367 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9368 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9369 command, when you have turned on this mode
9370 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9372 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9373 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9377 @section Tree Display
9380 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9381 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9382 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9383 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9386 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9389 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9390 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9391 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9393 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9394 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9395 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9396 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9397 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9399 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9400 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9401 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9402 default is @code{modeline}.
9404 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9405 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9406 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9407 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9408 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9409 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9410 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9416 The name of the poster.
9418 The @code{From} header.
9420 The number of the article.
9422 The opening bracket.
9424 The closing bracket.
9429 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9431 Variables related to the display are:
9434 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9435 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9436 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9437 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9438 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9439 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9441 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9442 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9443 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9444 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9448 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9449 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9450 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9451 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9452 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9453 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9454 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9455 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9456 other windows displayed next to it.
9458 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9462 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9463 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9466 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9467 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9468 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9469 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9470 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9471 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9472 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9476 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9479 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9489 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9493 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9494 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9496 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9498 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9503 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9504 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9505 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9508 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9509 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9510 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9511 (gnus-add-configuration
9515 (summary 0.75 point)
9520 @xref{Window Layout}.
9523 @node Mail Group Commands
9524 @section Mail Group Commands
9525 @cindex mail group commands
9527 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9528 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9530 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9531 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9536 @kindex B e (Summary)
9537 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9538 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9539 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9540 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9541 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9544 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9545 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9546 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9547 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9548 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9549 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9552 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9553 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9554 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9555 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9556 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9557 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9560 @kindex B m (Summary)
9562 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9563 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9564 Move the article from one mail group to another
9565 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9566 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9569 @kindex B c (Summary)
9571 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9572 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9573 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9574 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9575 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9578 @kindex B B (Summary)
9579 @cindex crosspost mail
9580 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9581 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9582 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9583 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9584 be properly updated.
9587 @kindex B i (Summary)
9588 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9589 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9590 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9591 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9594 @kindex B I (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9596 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9597 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9598 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9601 @kindex B r (Summary)
9602 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9603 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9604 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9605 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9606 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9607 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9608 (which is the default).
9612 @kindex B w (Summary)
9614 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9615 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9616 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9617 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9618 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9619 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9620 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9623 @kindex B q (Summary)
9624 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9625 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9626 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9627 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9630 @kindex B t (Summary)
9631 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9632 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9633 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9636 @kindex B p (Summary)
9637 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9638 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9639 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9640 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9641 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9642 article from your news server (or rather, from
9643 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9644 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9645 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9646 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9647 just not have arrived yet.
9650 @kindex K E (Summary)
9651 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9652 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9653 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9654 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9655 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9659 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9660 @cindex moving articles
9661 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9662 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9663 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9664 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9665 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9666 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9667 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9670 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9671 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9672 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9673 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9677 @node Various Summary Stuff
9678 @section Various Summary Stuff
9681 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9682 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9683 * Summary Generation Commands::
9684 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9688 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9689 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9690 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9692 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9693 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9694 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9695 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9696 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9697 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9700 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9701 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9702 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9703 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9704 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9706 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9707 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9708 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9711 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9712 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9713 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9714 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9715 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9716 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9717 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9718 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9719 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9720 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9722 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9723 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9724 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9725 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9726 list of articles to be selected.
9728 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9729 the list in one particular group:
9732 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9733 (if (string= group "some.group")
9734 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9738 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9739 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9740 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9741 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9742 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9743 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9744 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9745 buffers. For example:
9748 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9749 '(message-use-followup-to
9750 (gnus-visible-headers .
9751 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9757 @node Summary Group Information
9758 @subsection Summary Group Information
9763 @kindex H f (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9765 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9766 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9767 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9768 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9769 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9770 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9771 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9772 be used for fetching the file.
9775 @kindex H d (Summary)
9776 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9777 Give a brief description of the current group
9778 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9779 rereading the description from the server.
9782 @kindex H h (Summary)
9783 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9784 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9785 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9788 @kindex H i (Summary)
9789 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9790 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9794 @node Searching for Articles
9795 @subsection Searching for Articles
9800 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9801 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9802 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9803 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9806 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9807 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9808 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9809 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9813 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9814 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9815 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9816 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9817 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9818 search backward instead.
9820 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9821 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9824 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9825 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9826 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9827 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9830 @node Summary Generation Commands
9831 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9836 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9837 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9838 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9841 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9842 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9843 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9844 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9849 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9850 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9856 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9857 @kindex A D (Summary)
9858 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9859 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9860 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9861 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9862 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9863 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9864 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9865 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9869 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9870 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9871 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9872 several documents into one biiig group
9873 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9874 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9875 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9876 command understands the process/prefix convention
9877 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9880 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9882 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9883 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9884 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9885 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9889 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9890 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9891 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9894 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9895 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9896 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9897 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9900 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9901 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9902 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9903 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9908 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9909 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9910 @cindex summary exit
9911 @cindex exiting groups
9913 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9914 group and return you to the group buffer.
9920 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9922 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9923 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9924 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9926 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9927 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9928 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9929 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9930 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9931 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9932 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9936 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9938 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9939 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9940 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9944 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9946 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9947 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9948 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9949 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9952 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9953 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9954 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9955 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9958 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9959 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9960 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9961 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9964 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9965 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9966 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9967 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9968 all articles, both read and unread.
9972 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9973 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9974 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9975 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9976 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9977 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9978 articles, both read and unread.
9981 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9982 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9983 Exit the group and go to the next group
9984 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9987 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9988 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9989 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9990 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9993 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9994 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9995 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9996 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9997 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9998 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10001 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10002 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10003 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10004 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10006 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10007 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10008 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10009 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10010 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10011 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10012 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10013 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10014 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10015 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10016 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10017 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10019 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10021 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10022 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10023 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10024 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10025 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10026 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10027 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10028 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10029 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10032 @node Crosspost Handling
10033 @section Crosspost Handling
10037 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10038 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10039 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10040 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10041 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10042 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10045 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10046 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10047 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10048 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10049 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10051 @cindex cross-posting
10054 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10055 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10056 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10057 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10058 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10059 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10060 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10061 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10062 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10063 the cross reference mechanism.
10065 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10066 @cindex overview.fmt
10067 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10068 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10069 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10070 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10071 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10072 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10075 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10076 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10077 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10082 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10085 @node Duplicate Suppression
10086 @section Duplicate Suppression
10088 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10089 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10090 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10091 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10096 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10097 is evil and not very common.
10100 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10101 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10104 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10105 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10108 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10111 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10112 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10114 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10115 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10116 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10117 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10118 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10119 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10120 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10123 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10124 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10125 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10126 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10127 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10128 saw the article in.
10131 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10132 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10133 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10135 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10136 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10137 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10138 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10139 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10140 session are suppressed.
10142 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10143 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10144 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10145 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10147 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10148 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10149 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10150 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10153 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10154 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10155 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10156 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10157 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10158 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10159 to you to figure out, I think.
10164 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10165 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10166 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10170 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10171 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10174 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10175 or newer is recommended.
10179 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10180 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10183 @item mm-verify-option
10184 @vindex mm-verify-option
10185 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10186 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10187 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10189 @item mm-decrypt-option
10190 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10191 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10192 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10193 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10198 @section Mailing List
10200 @kindex A M (summary)
10201 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10202 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10203 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10204 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10205 summary buffer, or say:
10208 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10211 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10216 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10217 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10218 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10221 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10222 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10223 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10226 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10227 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10228 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10232 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10233 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10234 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10237 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10238 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10239 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10242 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10243 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10244 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10248 @node Article Buffer
10249 @chapter Article Buffer
10250 @cindex article buffer
10252 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10253 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10254 tell Gnus otherwise.
10257 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10258 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10259 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10260 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10261 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10265 @node Hiding Headers
10266 @section Hiding Headers
10267 @cindex hiding headers
10268 @cindex deleting headers
10270 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10271 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10273 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10274 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10275 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10276 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10277 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10278 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10279 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10280 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10281 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10283 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10287 @item gnus-visible-headers
10288 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10289 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10290 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10291 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10293 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10294 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10297 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10300 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10303 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10304 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10305 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10306 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10307 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10308 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10310 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10311 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10314 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10317 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10320 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10321 variable will have no effect.
10325 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10326 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10327 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10328 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10329 the headers are to be displayed.
10331 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10332 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10335 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10338 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10339 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10341 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10342 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10343 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10344 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10345 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10346 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10347 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10350 These conditions are:
10353 Remove all empty headers.
10355 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10356 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10358 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10359 @code{From} header.
10361 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10364 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10365 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10367 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10370 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10372 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10375 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10378 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10379 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10382 This is also the default value for this variable.
10386 @section Using MIME
10389 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10390 while people stand around yawning.
10392 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10393 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10395 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10396 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10397 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10399 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10400 @findex gnus-display-mime
10401 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10402 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10403 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10404 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10406 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10410 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10411 @item RET (Article)
10412 @kindex RET (Article)
10413 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10414 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10415 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10416 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10417 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10418 object is displayed inline.
10420 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10421 @item M-RET (Article)
10422 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10424 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10425 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10427 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10429 @kindex t (Article)
10430 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10431 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10433 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10435 @kindex C (Article)
10436 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10437 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10439 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10441 @kindex o (Article)
10442 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10443 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10445 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10446 @item C-o (Article)
10447 @kindex C-o (Article)
10448 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10449 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10450 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10451 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10452 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10453 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10455 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10457 @kindex c (Article)
10458 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10459 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10461 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10463 @kindex p (Article)
10464 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10465 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10466 @file{.mailcap} file.
10468 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10470 @kindex i (Article)
10471 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10472 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10473 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10474 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10475 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10478 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10480 @kindex E (Article)
10481 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10482 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10483 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10485 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10487 @kindex e (Article)
10488 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10489 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10491 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10493 @kindex | (Article)
10494 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10496 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10498 @kindex . (Article)
10499 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10500 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10504 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10505 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10508 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10509 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10510 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10511 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10512 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10513 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10514 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10515 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10516 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10518 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10520 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10523 @node Customizing Articles
10524 @section Customizing Articles
10525 @cindex article customization
10527 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10528 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10529 called automatically when you select the articles.
10531 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10532 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10533 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10534 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10536 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10537 for sensible values.
10541 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10544 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10547 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10550 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10553 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10557 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10558 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10559 regexps in the list.
10562 A list where the first element is not a string:
10564 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10565 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10566 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10570 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10575 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10576 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10577 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10578 considered to contain just a single part.
10580 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10581 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10582 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10583 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10584 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10585 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10586 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10588 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10589 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10590 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10591 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10594 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10595 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10597 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10599 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10600 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10601 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10602 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10603 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10604 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10605 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10606 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10607 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10608 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10610 @xref{Article Washing}.
10612 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10613 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10614 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10615 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10616 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10617 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10618 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10620 @xref{Article Date}.
10622 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10623 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10624 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10628 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10630 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10632 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10633 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10634 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10638 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10642 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10643 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10644 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10645 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10646 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10647 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10648 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10649 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10651 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10653 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10654 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10655 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10657 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10659 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10660 @item gnus-treat-translate
10661 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10663 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10664 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10665 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10666 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10668 @xref{Article Header}.
10673 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10674 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10675 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10676 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10677 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10681 @node Article Keymap
10682 @section Article Keymap
10684 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10685 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10686 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10687 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10690 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10695 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10696 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10697 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10700 @kindex DEL (Article)
10701 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10702 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10705 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10706 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10707 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10708 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10709 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10712 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10713 @findex gnus-article-mail
10714 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10715 given a prefix, include the mail.
10718 @kindex s (Article)
10719 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10720 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10721 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10724 @kindex ? (Article)
10725 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10726 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10727 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10730 @kindex TAB (Article)
10731 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10732 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10733 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10736 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10737 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10738 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10741 @kindex R (Article)
10742 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10743 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10744 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10745 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10749 @kindex F (Article)
10750 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10751 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10752 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10753 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10761 @section Misc Article
10765 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10766 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10767 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10768 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10771 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10772 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10774 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10775 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10777 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10778 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10779 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10780 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10781 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10782 the contents of the article buffer.
10784 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10785 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10786 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10788 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10789 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10790 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10791 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10793 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10794 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10795 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10796 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10797 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10803 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10804 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10805 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10810 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10813 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10816 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10817 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10818 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10821 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10824 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10827 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10832 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10836 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10838 @item gnus-break-pages
10839 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10840 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10841 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10842 paging will not be done.
10844 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10845 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10846 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10851 @node Composing Messages
10852 @chapter Composing Messages
10853 @cindex composing messages
10856 @cindex sending mail
10861 @cindex using s/mime
10862 @cindex using smime
10864 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10865 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10866 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10867 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10868 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10869 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10872 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10873 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10874 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10875 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10876 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10877 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10878 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10879 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10882 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10883 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10889 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10892 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10893 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10894 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10895 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10896 @code{nil} include all headers.
10898 @item gnus-add-to-list
10899 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10900 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10901 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10903 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10904 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10905 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10906 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10907 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10912 @node Posting Server
10913 @section Posting Server
10915 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10916 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10918 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10920 It can be quite complicated.
10922 @vindex gnus-post-method
10923 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10924 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10925 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10926 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10927 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10928 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10929 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10930 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10931 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10934 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10937 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10938 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10939 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10940 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10942 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10943 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10945 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10946 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10949 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10950 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10952 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10953 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10954 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10955 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10956 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10957 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10958 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10959 package correctly. An example:
10962 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10963 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10966 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10967 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10968 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10970 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10971 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10972 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10974 @node Mail and Post
10975 @section Mail and Post
10977 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10981 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10982 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10983 @cindex mailing lists
10985 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10986 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10987 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10988 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10989 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10990 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10991 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10992 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10993 still a pain, though.
10997 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10998 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10999 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11002 @findex ispell-message
11004 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11007 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11008 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11011 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11015 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11016 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11018 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11021 Modify to suit your needs.
11024 @node Archived Messages
11025 @section Archived Messages
11026 @cindex archived messages
11027 @cindex sent messages
11029 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11030 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11031 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11032 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11035 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11036 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11039 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11040 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11041 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11044 (nnfolder "archive"
11045 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11046 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11047 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11048 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11051 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11052 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11053 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11054 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11057 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11058 '(nnfolder "archive"
11059 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11060 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11061 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11064 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11066 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11067 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11068 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11070 This variable can be used to do the following:
11075 Messages will be saved in that group.
11077 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11078 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11079 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11080 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11081 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11082 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11083 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11084 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11088 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11090 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11091 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11094 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11099 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11101 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11104 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11106 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11109 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11111 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11112 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11113 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11114 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11117 More complex stuff:
11119 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11120 '((if (message-news-p)
11125 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11126 messages in one file per month:
11129 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11130 '((if (message-news-p)
11132 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11135 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11136 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11138 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11139 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11140 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11141 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11142 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11143 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11144 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11145 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11146 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11147 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11149 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11150 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11151 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11152 this will disable archiving.
11155 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11156 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11157 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11158 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11159 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11162 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11163 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11164 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11167 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11168 but the latter is the preferred method.
11170 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11171 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11172 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11174 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11175 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11176 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11177 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11178 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11179 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11180 changed in the future.
11185 @node Posting Styles
11186 @section Posting Styles
11187 @cindex posting styles
11190 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11192 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11193 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11194 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11197 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11198 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11199 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11200 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11201 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11206 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11207 (organization "What me?"))
11209 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11210 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11211 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11214 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11215 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11216 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11217 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11218 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11219 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11220 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11221 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11223 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11224 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11225 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11226 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11227 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11228 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11229 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11230 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11231 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11232 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11233 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11236 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11237 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11238 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11239 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11240 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11241 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11242 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11243 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11244 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11245 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11248 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11249 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11250 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11251 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11252 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11253 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11254 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11255 references chars lines xref extra.
11257 @vindex message-reply-headers
11259 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11260 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11261 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11263 @findex message-mail-p
11264 @findex message-news-p
11266 So here's a new example:
11269 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11271 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11273 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11274 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11276 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11277 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11278 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11279 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11280 (signature my-news-signature))
11281 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11282 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11283 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11284 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11285 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11286 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11287 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11288 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11289 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11290 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11292 (From (save-excursion
11293 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11294 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11296 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11299 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11300 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11301 if you fill many roles.
11308 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11309 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11310 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11311 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11312 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11314 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11315 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11316 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11317 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11318 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11322 @vindex nndraft-directory
11323 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11324 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11325 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11326 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11327 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11328 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11330 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11331 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11334 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11335 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11336 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11337 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11338 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11339 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11340 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11341 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11342 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11343 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11344 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11345 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11346 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11347 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11349 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11350 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11351 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11353 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11354 @kindex D e (Draft)
11355 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11356 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11357 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11359 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11362 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11363 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11364 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11365 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11366 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11367 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11368 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11371 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11372 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11373 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11376 @node Rejected Articles
11377 @section Rejected Articles
11378 @cindex rejected articles
11380 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11381 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11382 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11383 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11385 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11386 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11387 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11388 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11389 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11391 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11392 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11393 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11395 @node Signing and encrypting
11396 @section Signing and encrypting
11398 @cindex using s/mime
11399 @cindex using smime
11401 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11402 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11403 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11404 (@pxref{Security}).
11406 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11407 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11408 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11410 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11411 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11412 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11413 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11414 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11415 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11416 automatically encrypted messages.
11418 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11419 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11420 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11425 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11426 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11428 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11431 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11432 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11434 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11437 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11438 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11440 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11443 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11444 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11446 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11449 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11450 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11452 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11455 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11456 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11458 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11461 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11462 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11463 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11467 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11469 @node Select Methods
11470 @chapter Select Methods
11471 @cindex foreign groups
11472 @cindex select methods
11474 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11475 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11476 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11477 personal mail group.
11479 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11480 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11481 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11482 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11483 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11484 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11486 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11487 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11489 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11492 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11493 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11494 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11495 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11496 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11498 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11501 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11502 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11503 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11504 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11505 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11506 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11507 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11508 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11512 @node Server Buffer
11513 @section Server Buffer
11515 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11516 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11517 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11518 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11519 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11520 back end represents a virtual server.
11522 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11523 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11524 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11525 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11527 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11528 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11529 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11530 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11531 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11532 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11533 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11535 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11536 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11539 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11540 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11541 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11542 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11543 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11544 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11545 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11548 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11549 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11552 @node Server Buffer Format
11553 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11554 @cindex server buffer format
11556 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11557 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11558 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11559 variable, with some simple extensions:
11564 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11567 The name of this server.
11570 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11573 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11576 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11577 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11578 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11579 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11589 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11592 @node Server Commands
11593 @subsection Server Commands
11594 @cindex server commands
11600 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11601 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11605 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11606 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11609 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11610 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11611 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11615 @findex gnus-server-exit
11616 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11620 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11621 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11625 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11626 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11630 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11631 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11635 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11636 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11640 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11641 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11642 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11647 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11648 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11649 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11650 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11655 @node Example Methods
11656 @subsection Example Methods
11658 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11661 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11664 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11670 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11671 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11674 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11675 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11677 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11678 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11682 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11685 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11686 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11688 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11689 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11690 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11694 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11697 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11700 Here's the method for a public spool:
11704 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11705 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11711 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11712 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11713 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11714 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11715 should probably look something like this:
11719 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11720 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11721 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11722 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11725 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11726 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11727 configuration to the example above:
11730 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11733 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11735 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11736 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11737 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11741 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11742 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11743 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11744 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11747 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11748 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11749 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11750 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11753 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11754 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11756 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11757 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11759 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11760 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11761 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11763 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11765 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11766 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11767 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11768 will contain the following:
11778 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11779 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11780 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11783 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11784 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11785 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11788 @node Server Variables
11789 @subsection Server Variables
11791 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11792 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11793 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11794 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11795 won't change the "derived" variables.
11797 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11798 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11799 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11800 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11801 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11802 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11803 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11804 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11805 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11809 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11810 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11811 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11815 @node Servers and Methods
11816 @subsection Servers and Methods
11818 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11819 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11820 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11821 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11825 @node Unavailable Servers
11826 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11828 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11829 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11830 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11831 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11832 actually the case or not.
11834 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11835 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11836 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11837 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11838 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11839 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11840 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11841 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11843 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11844 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11846 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11847 with the following commands:
11853 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11854 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11855 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11859 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11860 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11861 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11865 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11866 Mark the current server as unreachable
11867 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11870 @kindex M-o (Server)
11871 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11872 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11873 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11876 @kindex M-c (Server)
11877 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11878 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11879 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11883 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11884 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11885 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11889 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11890 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11896 @section Getting News
11897 @cindex reading news
11898 @cindex news back ends
11900 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11901 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11902 or it can read from a local spool.
11905 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11906 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11914 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11915 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11916 server as the, uhm, address.
11918 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11919 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11920 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11921 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11923 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11924 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11925 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11927 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11932 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11933 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11934 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11936 @cindex authentification
11937 @cindex nntp authentification
11938 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11939 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11940 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11941 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11942 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11943 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11944 present in this hook.
11946 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11947 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11948 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11949 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11950 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11951 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11952 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11953 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11954 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11955 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11956 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11957 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11961 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11964 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11966 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11967 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11968 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11969 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11970 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11971 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11972 @samp{force} is explained below.
11976 Here's an example file:
11979 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11980 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11983 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11984 have to be first, for instance.
11986 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11987 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11988 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11989 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11990 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11991 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11992 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11994 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11995 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12001 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12002 previously mentioned.
12004 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12006 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12007 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12008 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12009 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12010 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12013 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12014 '(("innd" (ding))))
12017 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12019 The default value is
12022 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12023 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12024 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12027 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12028 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12030 @item nntp-maximum-request
12031 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12032 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12033 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12034 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12035 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12036 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12037 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12039 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12040 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12041 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12042 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12043 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12044 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12045 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12046 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12047 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12048 no timeouts are done.
12050 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12051 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12052 @c @cindex PPP connections
12053 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12054 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12055 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12056 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12057 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12058 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12059 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12060 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12061 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12062 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12064 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12065 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12066 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12067 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12068 @c described above.
12070 @item nntp-server-hook
12071 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12072 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12075 @item nntp-buggy-select
12076 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12077 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12079 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12080 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12081 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12082 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12085 @item nntp-xover-commands
12086 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12089 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12090 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12094 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12095 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12096 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12097 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12098 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12099 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12100 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12101 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12102 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12103 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12104 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12106 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12107 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12108 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12110 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12111 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12112 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12113 server closes connection.
12115 @item nntp-record-commands
12116 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12117 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12118 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12119 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12120 that doesn't seem to work.
12122 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12123 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12124 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12125 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12126 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12127 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12128 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12129 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12131 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12132 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12133 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12134 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12135 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12136 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12137 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12140 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12143 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12144 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12148 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12149 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12150 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12154 @node Direct Functions
12155 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12156 @cindex direct connection functions
12158 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12159 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12160 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12161 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12164 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12165 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12166 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12169 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12170 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12171 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12172 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12173 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12174 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12175 define a server as follows:
12178 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12180 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12181 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12183 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12184 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12185 (nntp-port-number 563)
12186 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12189 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12190 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12191 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12192 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12193 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12194 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12195 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12196 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12200 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12201 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12202 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12205 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12206 session, which is not a good idea.
12210 @node Indirect Functions
12211 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12212 @cindex indirect connection functions
12214 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12215 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12216 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12217 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12218 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12219 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12222 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12223 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12224 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12225 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12226 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12228 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12231 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12232 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12233 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12234 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12236 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12237 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12238 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12239 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12240 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12241 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12242 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12243 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12246 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12247 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12248 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12249 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12251 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12254 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12255 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12256 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12259 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12260 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12261 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12262 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12264 @item nntp-via-user-password
12265 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12266 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12268 @item nntp-via-envuser
12269 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12270 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12271 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12272 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12274 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12275 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12276 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12277 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12284 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12289 @item nntp-via-user-name
12290 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12291 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12293 @item nntp-via-address
12294 @vindex nntp-via-address
12295 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12300 @node Common Variables
12301 @subsubsection Common Variables
12303 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12304 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12309 @item nntp-pre-command
12310 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12311 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12312 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12313 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12314 wrapper for instance.
12317 @vindex nntp-address
12318 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12320 @item nntp-port-number
12321 @vindex nntp-port-number
12322 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12323 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12324 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12325 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12327 @item nntp-end-of-line
12328 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12329 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12330 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12331 using a non native connection function.
12333 @item nntp-telnet-command
12334 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12335 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12336 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12337 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12339 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12340 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12341 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12348 @subsection News Spool
12352 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12353 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12354 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12357 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12358 anything else) as the address.
12360 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12361 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12362 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12363 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12367 @item nnspool-inews-program
12368 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12369 Program used to post an article.
12371 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12372 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12373 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12375 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12376 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12377 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12378 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12380 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12381 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12382 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12383 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12385 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12386 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12387 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12389 @item nnspool-active-file
12390 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12391 The path to the active file.
12393 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12394 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12395 The path to the group descriptions file.
12397 @item nnspool-history-file
12398 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12399 The path to the news history file.
12401 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12402 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12403 The path to the active date file.
12405 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12406 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12407 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12410 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12411 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12413 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12414 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12415 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12421 @section Getting Mail
12422 @cindex reading mail
12425 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12429 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12430 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12431 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12432 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12433 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12434 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12435 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12436 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12437 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12438 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12439 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12440 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12441 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12445 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12446 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12448 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12449 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12450 of a culture shock.
12452 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12453 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12455 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12456 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12457 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12458 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12460 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12462 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12463 deleted? How awful!
12465 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12466 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12467 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12468 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12471 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12472 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12473 they want to treat a message.
12475 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12476 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12477 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12478 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12479 archived somewhere else.
12481 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12482 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12483 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12484 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12485 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12487 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12488 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12489 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12491 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12492 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12495 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12496 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12497 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12498 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12499 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12501 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12502 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12503 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12504 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12505 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12506 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12510 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12511 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12513 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12514 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12515 and things will happen automatically.
12517 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12518 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12521 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12524 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12525 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12526 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12527 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12528 like any other group.
12530 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12533 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12534 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12535 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12539 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12540 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12541 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12544 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12545 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12546 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12549 @node Splitting Mail
12550 @subsection Splitting Mail
12551 @cindex splitting mail
12552 @cindex mail splitting
12554 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12555 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12556 to be split into groups.
12559 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12560 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12561 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12562 ("mail.other" "")))
12565 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12566 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12567 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12568 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12569 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12570 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12571 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12574 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12577 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12578 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12579 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12580 mail belongs in that group.
12582 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12583 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12584 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12585 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12586 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12587 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12589 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12590 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12591 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12592 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12593 thinks should carry this mail message.
12595 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12596 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12597 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12598 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12600 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12601 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12602 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12603 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12604 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12606 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12609 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12610 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12611 links. If that's the case for you, set
12612 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12613 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12615 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12616 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12617 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12618 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12619 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12620 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12623 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12624 Header lines longer than the value of
12625 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12628 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12629 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12630 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12631 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12632 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12633 can be turned off completely by binding
12634 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12635 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12637 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12638 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12639 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12640 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12641 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12642 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12643 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12646 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12647 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12648 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12649 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12650 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12651 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12652 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12653 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12654 month's rent money.
12658 @subsection Mail Sources
12660 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12661 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12665 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12666 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12667 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12671 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12672 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12674 @cindex mail server
12677 @cindex mail source
12679 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12680 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12685 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12688 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12689 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12690 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12693 The following mail source types are available:
12697 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12703 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12704 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12705 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12708 An example file mail source:
12711 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12714 Or using the default path:
12720 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12721 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12722 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12725 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12729 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12732 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12736 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12739 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12741 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12744 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12748 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12749 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12750 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12751 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12752 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12753 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12754 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12755 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12756 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12757 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12759 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12760 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12761 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12762 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12768 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12772 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12776 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12777 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12778 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12779 predicate are considered.
12783 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12787 An example directory mail source:
12790 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12795 Get mail from a POP server.
12801 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12802 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12805 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12806 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12807 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12808 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12809 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12812 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12816 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12820 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12821 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12824 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12827 The valid format specifier characters are:
12831 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12832 included in this string.
12835 The name of the server.
12838 The port number of the server.
12841 The user name to use.
12844 The password to use.
12847 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12848 corresponding keywords.
12851 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12852 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12855 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12856 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12859 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12860 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12863 @item :authentication
12864 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12865 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12870 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12871 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12873 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12874 default user name, and default fetcher:
12880 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12883 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12884 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12887 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12890 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12894 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12895 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12896 contains exactly one mail.
12902 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12903 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12906 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12907 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12909 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12910 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12911 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12914 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12915 from locking problems).
12919 Two example maildir mail sources:
12922 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12923 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12927 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12932 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12933 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12934 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12935 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12938 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12939 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12945 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12946 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12949 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12950 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12953 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12957 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12961 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12962 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12963 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12964 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12966 @item :authentication
12967 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12968 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12969 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12970 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12973 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12974 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12975 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12981 The valid format specifier characters are:
12985 The name of the server.
12988 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12991 The port number of the server.
12994 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12995 corresponding keywords.
12998 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12999 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13002 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13003 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13004 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13005 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13006 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13007 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13010 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13011 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13012 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13013 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13016 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13017 after finishing the fetch.
13021 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13024 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13026 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13030 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13031 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13032 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13034 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13035 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13037 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13043 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13044 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13047 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13051 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13055 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13056 folder after finishing the fetch.
13060 An example webmail source:
13063 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13065 :password "secret")
13070 @item Common Keywords
13071 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13077 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13078 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13082 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13087 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13088 useful when you use local mail and news.
13093 @subsubsection Function Interface
13095 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13096 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13097 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13098 consider the following mail-source setting:
13101 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13102 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13105 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13106 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13107 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13108 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13109 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13111 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13114 @node Mail Source Customization
13115 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13117 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13118 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13122 @item mail-source-crash-box
13123 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13124 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13125 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13127 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13128 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13129 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13131 @item mail-source-directory
13132 @vindex mail-source-directory
13133 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13134 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13135 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13138 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13139 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13140 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13141 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13142 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13143 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13145 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13146 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13147 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13149 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13150 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13151 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13152 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13157 @node Fetching Mail
13158 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13160 @vindex mail-sources
13161 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13162 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13163 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13164 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13166 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13167 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13170 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13171 mail server, you'd say something like:
13176 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13177 :password "secret")))
13180 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13184 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13185 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13188 :password "secret")))
13192 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13193 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13194 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13195 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13196 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13197 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13201 @node Mail Back End Variables
13202 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13204 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13208 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13209 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13210 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13211 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13213 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13214 @item nnmail-split-hook
13215 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13216 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13217 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13218 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13219 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13220 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13221 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13222 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13223 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13226 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13227 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13228 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13229 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13230 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13231 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13232 starting to handle the new mail) and
13233 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13234 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13235 default file modes the new mail files get:
13238 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13239 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13241 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13242 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13245 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13246 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13247 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13248 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13249 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13250 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13251 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13253 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13254 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13255 @findex delete-file
13256 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13258 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13259 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13260 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13261 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13262 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13264 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13265 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13266 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13267 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13268 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13270 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13271 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13272 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13277 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13278 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13279 @cindex mail splitting
13280 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13282 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13283 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13284 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13285 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13286 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13287 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13289 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13292 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13293 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13294 ;; from real errors.
13295 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13297 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13298 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13299 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13300 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13301 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13302 ;; Other mailing lists...
13303 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13304 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13305 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13306 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13307 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13308 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13309 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13310 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13312 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13313 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13317 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13318 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13319 the five possible split syntaxes:
13324 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13325 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13329 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13330 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13331 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13332 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13333 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13334 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13335 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13336 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13339 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13340 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13341 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13342 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13345 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13346 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13349 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13350 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13353 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13354 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13355 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13356 function should return a @var{split}.
13359 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13360 body of the messages:
13363 (defun split-on-body ()
13365 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13366 (goto-char (point-min))
13367 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13371 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13372 when the @code{:} function is run.
13375 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13376 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13377 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13381 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13385 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13386 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13387 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13388 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13389 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13391 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13392 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13393 are expanded as specified by the variable
13394 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13395 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13398 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13399 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13400 when all this splitting is performed.
13402 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13403 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13404 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13407 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13410 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13411 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13413 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13414 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13415 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13416 groupings 1 through 9.
13418 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13419 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13420 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13421 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13422 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13423 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13424 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13425 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13426 it once per thread.
13428 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13429 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13430 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13433 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13434 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13436 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13437 ;; other splits go here
13441 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13442 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13443 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13444 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13445 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13446 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13447 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13448 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13449 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13450 unless the group name matches the regexp
13451 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13452 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13453 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13454 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13455 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13456 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13457 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13458 messages goes into the new group.
13460 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13461 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13462 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13463 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13464 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13468 @node Group Mail Splitting
13469 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13470 @cindex mail splitting
13471 @cindex group mail splitting
13473 @findex gnus-group-split
13474 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13475 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13476 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13477 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13478 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13479 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13480 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13481 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13483 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13484 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13485 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13486 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13488 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13489 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13490 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13491 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13492 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13493 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13494 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13496 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13497 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13498 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13499 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13500 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13501 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13502 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13504 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13505 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13506 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13507 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13508 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13509 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13510 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13511 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13512 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13513 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13514 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13515 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13516 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13518 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13523 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13524 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13526 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13527 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13528 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13529 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13531 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13534 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13535 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13536 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13539 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13540 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13541 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13545 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13546 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13547 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13551 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13554 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13555 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13556 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13557 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13558 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13559 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13560 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13561 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13562 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13564 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13565 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13566 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13567 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13568 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13569 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13570 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13571 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13572 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13574 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13575 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13576 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13577 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13578 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13579 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13582 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13585 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13586 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13587 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13588 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13589 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13592 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13593 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13594 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13595 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13597 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13598 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13599 @cindex incorporating old mail
13600 @cindex import old mail
13602 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13603 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13604 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13607 Doing so can be quite easy.
13609 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13610 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13611 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13612 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13613 your @code{nnml} groups.
13619 Go to the group buffer.
13622 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13623 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13626 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13629 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13630 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13633 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13634 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13637 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13638 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13639 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13640 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13641 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13643 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13644 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13645 using the new mail back end.
13648 @node Expiring Mail
13649 @subsection Expiring Mail
13650 @cindex article expiry
13652 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13653 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13654 different approach to mail reading.
13656 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13657 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13658 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13659 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13660 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13661 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13664 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13665 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13666 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13667 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13668 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13669 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13670 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13671 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13672 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13674 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13675 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13676 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13677 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13678 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13679 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13680 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13683 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13684 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13685 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13686 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13687 into its own group.)
13689 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13690 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13691 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13692 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13693 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13694 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13695 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13696 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13699 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13700 Groups that match the regular expression
13701 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13702 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13703 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13705 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13706 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13707 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13708 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13711 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13713 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13714 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13715 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13718 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13719 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13720 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13721 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13722 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13724 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13725 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13728 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13729 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13732 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13733 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13735 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13736 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13737 don't really mix very well.
13739 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13740 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13741 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13742 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13745 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13746 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13747 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13748 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13751 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13753 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13755 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13757 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13759 ((string= group "important")
13765 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13766 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13768 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13769 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13770 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13773 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13774 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13776 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13777 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13778 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13779 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13780 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13781 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13782 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13783 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13784 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13785 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13786 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13787 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13788 name or @code{delete}.
13790 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13792 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13795 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13796 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13797 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13798 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13799 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13802 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13803 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13804 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13805 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13806 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13809 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13810 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13811 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13812 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13813 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13814 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13816 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13817 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13818 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13819 easier for procmail users.
13821 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13822 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13823 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13824 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13825 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13826 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13827 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13828 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13829 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13830 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13831 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13832 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13833 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13836 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13838 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13839 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13840 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13841 auto-expire turned on.
13845 @subsection Washing Mail
13846 @cindex mail washing
13847 @cindex list server brain damage
13848 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13850 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13851 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13852 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13853 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13854 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13855 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13857 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13858 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13859 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13862 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13863 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13864 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13865 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13868 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13869 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13870 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13871 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13872 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13875 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13876 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13877 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13878 Emacs running on MS machines.
13882 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13883 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13884 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13885 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13888 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13889 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13890 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13891 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13893 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13894 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13895 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13896 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13897 into a feature by documenting it.)
13899 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13900 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13901 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13902 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13903 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13904 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13905 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13908 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13909 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13912 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13913 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13916 This can also be done non-destructively with
13917 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13919 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13920 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13921 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13923 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13924 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13926 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13927 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13928 @code{References} headers.
13932 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13933 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13934 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13938 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13939 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13940 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13947 @subsection Duplicates
13949 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13950 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13951 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13952 @cindex duplicate mails
13953 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13954 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13955 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13956 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13957 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13958 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13959 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13960 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13961 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13962 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13963 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13964 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13965 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13967 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13968 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13969 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13970 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13972 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13975 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13976 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13980 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13981 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13982 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13983 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13984 (any mail "mail.misc")
13991 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13992 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13997 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13998 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13999 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14000 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14001 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14004 @node Not Reading Mail
14005 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14007 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14008 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14009 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14011 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14012 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14013 mail, which should help.
14015 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14016 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14017 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14018 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14019 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14020 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14021 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14022 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14023 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14024 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14025 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14027 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14028 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14032 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14033 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14035 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14036 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14037 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14039 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14040 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14041 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14042 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14043 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14044 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14045 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14048 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14049 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14050 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14051 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14052 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14053 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14057 @node Unix Mail Box
14058 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14060 @cindex unix mail box
14062 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14063 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14064 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14065 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14066 which group it belongs in.
14068 Virtual server settings:
14071 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14072 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14073 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14076 @item nnmbox-active-file
14077 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14078 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14079 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14081 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14082 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14083 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14084 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14089 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14093 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14094 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14095 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14096 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14097 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14099 Virtual server settings:
14102 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14103 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14104 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14106 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14107 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14108 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14109 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14111 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14112 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14113 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14119 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14121 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14123 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14124 format. It should be used with some caution.
14126 @vindex nnml-directory
14127 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14128 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14129 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14130 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14132 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14135 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14136 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14137 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14138 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14139 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14140 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14141 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14142 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14144 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14145 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14146 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14147 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14149 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14151 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14152 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14153 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14154 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14155 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14156 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14157 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14158 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14161 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14162 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14163 them next time it starts.
14165 Virtual server settings:
14168 @item nnml-directory
14169 @vindex nnml-directory
14170 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14171 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14174 @item nnml-active-file
14175 @vindex nnml-active-file
14176 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14177 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14179 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14180 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14181 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14182 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14184 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14185 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14186 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14189 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14190 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14191 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14192 default is @code{nil}.
14194 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14195 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14196 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14198 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14199 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14200 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14202 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14203 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14204 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14205 default is @code{nil}.
14207 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14208 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14209 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14211 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14212 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14213 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14218 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14219 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14220 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14221 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14222 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14223 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14224 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14229 @subsubsection MH Spool
14231 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14233 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14234 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14235 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14236 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14238 Virtual server settings:
14241 @item nnmh-directory
14242 @vindex nnmh-directory
14243 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14244 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14247 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14248 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14249 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14253 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14254 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14255 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14256 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14257 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14258 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14259 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14264 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14266 @cindex mbox folders
14267 @cindex mail folders
14269 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14270 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14271 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14274 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14276 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14277 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14278 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14279 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14280 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14281 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14282 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14283 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14284 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14285 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14287 Virtual server settings:
14290 @item nnfolder-directory
14291 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14292 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14293 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14296 @item nnfolder-active-file
14297 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14298 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14300 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14301 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14302 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14303 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14305 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14306 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14307 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14310 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14311 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14312 @cindex backup files
14313 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14314 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14315 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14316 your @file{.emacs} file:
14319 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14320 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14322 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14325 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14326 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14327 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14328 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14329 extract some information from it before removing it.
14331 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14332 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14333 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14334 default is @code{nil}.
14336 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14337 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14338 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14340 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14341 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14342 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14343 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14345 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14346 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14347 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14348 default is @code{nil}.
14350 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14351 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14352 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14354 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14355 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14356 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14357 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14362 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14363 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14364 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14365 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14366 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14367 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14370 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14371 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14373 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14374 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14375 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14376 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14377 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14379 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14380 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14381 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14382 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14383 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14384 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14385 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14386 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14389 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14390 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14391 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14392 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14397 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14398 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14399 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14400 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14401 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14402 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14403 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14404 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14405 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14406 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14407 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14408 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14409 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14414 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14415 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14416 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14417 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14418 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14419 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14420 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14421 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14422 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14423 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14424 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14425 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14426 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14427 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14429 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14430 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14435 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14436 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14437 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14438 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14439 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14440 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14441 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14442 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14443 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14444 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14445 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14446 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14447 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14448 provided by the active file and overviews.
14450 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14451 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14452 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14453 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14454 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14457 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14458 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14463 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14464 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14465 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14466 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14467 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14468 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14469 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14473 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14474 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14475 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14476 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14477 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14478 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14479 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14480 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14481 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14483 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14484 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14485 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14486 friendly mail back end all over.
14490 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14491 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14492 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14493 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14494 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14495 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14496 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14497 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14500 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14501 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14502 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14503 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14504 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14505 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14506 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14507 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14508 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14509 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14510 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14512 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14513 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14514 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14515 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14516 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14517 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14518 This will probably be changed in the future.
14520 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14521 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14522 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14523 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14524 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14527 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14528 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14530 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14531 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14532 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14533 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14534 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14535 would) to make it use less memory.
14537 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14538 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14539 depending in part on your filesystem.
14541 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14542 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14547 @node Browsing the Web
14548 @section Browsing the Web
14550 @cindex browsing the web
14554 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14555 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14556 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14557 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14558 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14559 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14560 even know what a news group is.
14562 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14563 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14564 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14565 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14566 you mad in the end.
14568 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14571 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14572 interfaces to these sources.
14576 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14577 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14578 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14579 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14580 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14581 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14584 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14586 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14587 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14588 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14589 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14590 though, you should be ok.
14592 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14593 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14594 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14595 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14596 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14598 @node Archiving Mail
14599 @subsection Archiving Mail
14600 @cindex archiving mail
14601 @cindex backup of mail
14603 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14604 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14605 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14606 marks is fairly simple.
14608 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14609 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14612 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14613 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14614 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14615 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14616 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14617 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14618 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14619 before you restore the data.
14621 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14622 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14623 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14624 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14625 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14626 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14627 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14628 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14629 is unnecessary in that case.
14632 @subsection Web Searches
14637 @cindex Usenet searches
14638 @cindex searching the Usenet
14640 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14641 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14642 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14643 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14644 searches without having to use a browser.
14646 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14647 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14648 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14649 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14650 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14652 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14653 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14654 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14655 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14656 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14657 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14658 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14659 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14660 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14661 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14664 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14665 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14666 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14667 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14668 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14669 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14671 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14672 to use @code{nnweb}.
14674 Virtual server variables:
14679 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14680 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14681 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14684 @vindex nnweb-search
14685 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14687 @item nnweb-max-hits
14688 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14689 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14692 @item nnweb-type-definition
14693 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14694 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14695 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14700 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14704 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14707 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14710 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14714 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14721 @subsection Slashdot
14725 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14726 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14727 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14729 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14730 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14733 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14734 '((nnslashdot "")))
14737 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14738 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14739 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14740 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14741 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14744 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14745 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14747 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14748 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14749 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14750 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14751 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14752 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14755 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14758 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14759 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14760 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14761 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14762 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14763 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14764 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14766 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14767 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14768 The login name to use when posting.
14770 @item nnslashdot-password
14771 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14772 The password to use when posting.
14774 @item nnslashdot-directory
14775 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14776 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14777 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14779 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14780 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14781 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14782 news articles and comments. The default is
14783 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14785 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14786 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14787 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14789 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14791 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14792 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14793 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14795 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14797 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14798 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14799 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14801 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14802 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14803 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14804 updated. The default is 0.
14811 @subsection Ultimate
14813 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14815 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14816 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14817 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14818 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14820 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14821 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14822 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14823 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14824 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14825 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14826 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14828 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14831 @item nnultimate-directory
14832 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14833 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14834 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14839 @subsection Web Archive
14841 @cindex Web Archive
14843 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14844 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14845 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14846 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14849 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14850 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14851 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14852 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14853 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14854 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14855 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14857 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14860 @item nnwarchive-directory
14861 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14862 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14863 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14865 @item nnwarchive-login
14866 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14867 The account name on the web server.
14869 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14870 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14871 The password for your account on the web server.
14879 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14880 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14881 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14884 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14885 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14888 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14891 @item nnrss-directory
14892 @vindex nnrss-directory
14893 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14894 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14898 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14899 the summary buffer.
14902 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14903 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14905 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14907 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14908 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14911 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14914 (require 'browse-url)
14916 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14918 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14921 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14922 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14925 (browse-url (cdr url))
14926 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
14927 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14929 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14930 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14931 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14932 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14935 @node Customizing w3
14936 @subsection Customizing w3
14942 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14943 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14944 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14946 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14947 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14948 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14951 (eval-after-load "w3"
14953 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14954 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14955 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14956 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14958 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14961 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14962 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14971 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14972 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14973 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14974 specify the network address of the server.
14976 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14977 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14978 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14979 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14980 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14982 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14983 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14984 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14985 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14987 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14988 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14989 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14990 usage explained in this section.
14992 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14993 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14994 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14997 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14998 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14999 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15001 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15002 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15003 ; a UW server running on localhost
15005 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15006 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15007 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15008 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15009 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15010 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15011 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15012 (nnimap-stream network))
15013 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15015 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15016 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15017 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15020 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15025 @item nnimap-address
15026 @vindex nnimap-address
15028 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15029 server name if not specified.
15031 @item nnimap-server-port
15032 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15033 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15035 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15038 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15039 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15042 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15043 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15044 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15045 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15046 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15047 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15048 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15050 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15051 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15052 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15055 Example server specification:
15058 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15059 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15060 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15063 @item nnimap-stream
15064 @vindex nnimap-stream
15065 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15066 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15067 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15068 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15070 Example server specification:
15073 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15074 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15077 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15081 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15082 @samp{imtest} program.
15084 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15086 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15087 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15090 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15091 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15092 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15094 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15096 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15099 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15100 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15101 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15102 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15103 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15104 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15105 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15106 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15107 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15110 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15111 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15112 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15113 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15114 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15115 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15116 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15117 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15118 distribution, for instance).
15120 @vindex imap-shell-program
15121 @vindex imap-shell-host
15122 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15123 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15125 @item nnimap-authenticator
15126 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15128 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15129 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15131 Example server specification:
15134 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15135 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15138 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15142 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15143 external program @code{imtest}.
15145 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15148 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15149 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15151 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15153 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15155 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15158 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15160 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15161 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15162 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15163 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15164 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15165 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15168 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15169 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15170 running in circles yet?
15172 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15173 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15176 The possible options are:
15181 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15184 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15185 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15186 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15187 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15189 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15194 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15195 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15197 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15198 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15199 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15200 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15201 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15204 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15205 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15208 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15209 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15210 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15211 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15214 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15215 as ticked for other users.
15217 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15219 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15221 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15222 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15223 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15224 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15226 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15227 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15228 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15229 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15231 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15232 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15234 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15235 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15236 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15242 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15243 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15244 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15245 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15246 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15251 @node Splitting in IMAP
15252 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15253 @cindex splitting imap mail
15255 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15256 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15257 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15258 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15259 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15263 Here are the variables of interest:
15267 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15268 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15270 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15272 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15273 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15275 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15277 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15278 @cindex splitting, inbox
15280 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15282 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15283 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15287 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15288 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15291 No nnmail equivalent.
15293 @item nnimap-split-rule
15294 @cindex Splitting, rules
15295 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15297 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15300 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15301 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15302 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15303 Neither did I, we need examples.
15306 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15308 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15309 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15310 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15313 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15314 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15315 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15317 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15318 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15322 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15325 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15326 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15328 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15329 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15330 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15331 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15333 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15334 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15335 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15336 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15337 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15338 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15340 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15341 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15342 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15344 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15345 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15346 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15348 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15350 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15351 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15352 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15355 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15356 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15357 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15358 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15359 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15360 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15363 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15364 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15365 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15366 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15367 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15368 group/function elements.
15370 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15372 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15374 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15376 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15377 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15379 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15380 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15381 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15384 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15385 @cindex splitting, fancy
15386 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15387 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15389 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15390 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15391 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15393 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15394 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15395 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15396 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15401 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15402 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15405 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15409 @node Expiring in IMAP
15410 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15411 @cindex expiring imap mail
15413 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived back end,
15414 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15415 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15416 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15417 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15418 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process.
15420 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15421 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15422 @sc{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15423 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15424 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15425 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15426 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15427 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15431 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15432 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15434 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15435 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15437 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15439 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15440 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15441 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15442 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15446 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15447 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15448 @cindex editing imap acls
15449 @cindex Access Control Lists
15450 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15452 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15454 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15455 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15456 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15459 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15460 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15461 editing window with detailed instructions.
15463 Some possible uses:
15467 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15468 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15469 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15471 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15472 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15473 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15477 @node Expunging mailboxes
15478 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15482 @cindex Manual expunging
15484 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15486 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15487 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15488 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15490 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15493 @node A note on namespaces
15494 @subsection A note on namespaces
15495 @cindex IMAP namespace
15498 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15499 following text in the RFC:
15502 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15504 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15505 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15506 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15507 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15509 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15510 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15511 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15512 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15513 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15514 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15517 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15518 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15519 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15521 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15522 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15523 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15524 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15525 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15526 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15527 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15528 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15530 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15531 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15532 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15534 @node Other Sources
15535 @section Other Sources
15537 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15538 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15542 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15543 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15544 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15545 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15546 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15550 @node Directory Groups
15551 @subsection Directory Groups
15553 @cindex directory groups
15555 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15556 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15559 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15560 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15561 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15562 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15564 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15565 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15566 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15567 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15568 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15570 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15572 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15573 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15574 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15575 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15578 @node Anything Groups
15579 @subsection Anything Groups
15582 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15583 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15584 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15587 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15588 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15589 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15590 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15591 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15592 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15593 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15594 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15595 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15596 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15599 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15600 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15601 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15602 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15604 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15605 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15606 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15607 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15609 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15610 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15611 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15612 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15613 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15614 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15615 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15616 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15621 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15622 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15623 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15624 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15626 @item nneething-exclude-files
15627 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15628 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15629 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15631 @item nneething-include-files
15632 @vindex nneething-include-files
15633 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15634 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15636 @item nneething-map-file
15637 @vindex nneething-map-file
15638 Name of the map files.
15642 @node Document Groups
15643 @subsection Document Groups
15645 @cindex documentation group
15648 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15649 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15656 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15661 The standard Unix mbox file.
15663 @cindex MMDF mail box
15665 The MMDF mail box format.
15668 Several news articles appended into a file.
15671 @cindex rnews batch files
15672 The rnews batch transport format.
15673 @cindex forwarded messages
15676 Forwarded articles.
15679 Netscape mail boxes.
15682 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15684 @item standard-digest
15685 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15688 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15690 @item lanl-gov-announce
15691 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15693 @item rfc822-forward
15694 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15697 The Outlook mail box.
15700 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15703 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15706 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15709 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15715 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15718 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15724 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15725 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15726 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15729 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15730 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15731 group. And that's it.
15733 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15734 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15735 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15736 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15737 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15738 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15739 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15740 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15741 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15742 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15744 Virtual server variables:
15747 @item nndoc-article-type
15748 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15749 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15750 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15751 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15752 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15753 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15755 @item nndoc-post-type
15756 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15757 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15758 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15763 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15767 @node Document Server Internals
15768 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15770 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15771 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15772 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15773 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15775 First, here's an example document type definition:
15779 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15780 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15783 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15784 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15785 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15786 types can be defined with very few settings:
15789 @item first-article
15790 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15791 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15794 @item article-begin
15795 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15796 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15798 @item head-begin-function
15799 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15802 @item nndoc-head-begin
15803 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15806 @item nndoc-head-end
15807 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15808 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15810 @item body-begin-function
15811 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15815 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15818 @item body-end-function
15819 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15823 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15826 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15827 regexp will be totally ignored.
15831 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15832 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15833 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15834 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15835 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15838 @item prepare-body-function
15839 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15840 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15841 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15843 @item article-transform-function
15844 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15845 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15846 body of the article.
15848 @item generate-head-function
15849 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15850 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15851 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15852 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15856 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15861 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15862 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15863 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15864 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15865 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15866 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15867 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15868 (subtype digest guess))
15871 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15872 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15873 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15874 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15875 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15877 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15878 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15879 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15880 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15881 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
15882 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15883 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15884 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15885 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15886 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15894 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15895 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15896 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15898 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15899 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15900 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15903 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15904 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15905 that interested in doing things properly.
15907 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15908 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15911 First some terminology:
15916 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15917 get news and/or mail from.
15920 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15921 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15924 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15928 @item message packets
15929 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15930 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15931 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15933 @item response packets
15934 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15935 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15936 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15946 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15947 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15948 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15949 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15952 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15955 You put the packet in your home directory.
15958 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15959 the native or secondary server.
15962 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15963 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15966 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15970 You transfer this packet to the server.
15973 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15976 You then repeat until you die.
15980 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15981 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15984 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15985 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15986 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15990 @node SOUP Commands
15991 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15993 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15997 @kindex G s b (Group)
15998 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15999 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16000 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16001 process/prefix convention.
16004 @kindex G s w (Group)
16005 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16006 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16009 @kindex G s s (Group)
16010 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16011 Send all replies from the replies packet
16012 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16015 @kindex G s p (Group)
16016 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16017 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16020 @kindex G s r (Group)
16021 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16022 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16025 @kindex O s (Summary)
16026 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16027 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16028 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16029 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16034 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16039 @item gnus-soup-directory
16040 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16041 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16042 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16044 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16045 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16046 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16047 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16049 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16050 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16051 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16052 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16054 @item gnus-soup-packer
16055 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16056 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16057 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16059 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16060 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16061 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16062 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16064 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16065 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16066 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16068 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16069 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16070 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16071 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16077 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16080 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16081 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16082 you can read them at leisure.
16084 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16088 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16089 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16090 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16091 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16093 @item nnsoup-directory
16094 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16095 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16096 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16098 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16099 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16100 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16101 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16103 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16104 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16105 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16106 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16107 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16109 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16110 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16111 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16112 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16114 @item nnsoup-active-file
16115 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16116 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16117 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16118 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16119 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16121 @item nnsoup-packer
16122 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16123 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16124 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16126 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16127 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16128 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16129 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16131 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16132 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16133 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16136 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16137 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16138 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16141 @item nnsoup-always-save
16142 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16143 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16149 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16151 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16152 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16153 more for that to happen.
16155 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16156 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16157 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16160 In specific, this is what it does:
16163 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16164 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16167 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16168 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16169 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16172 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16173 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16174 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16177 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16178 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16179 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16181 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16187 @item nngateway-address
16188 @vindex nngateway-address
16189 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16191 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16192 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16193 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16194 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16195 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16196 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16197 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16200 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16201 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16202 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16205 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16208 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16211 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16214 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16216 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16219 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16220 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16221 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16223 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16225 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16226 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16227 @code{nngateway-address}.
16232 (setq gnus-post-method
16234 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16235 (nngateway-header-transformation
16236 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16244 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16247 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16252 @node Combined Groups
16253 @section Combined Groups
16255 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16259 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16260 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16264 @node Virtual Groups
16265 @subsection Virtual Groups
16267 @cindex virtual groups
16268 @cindex merging groups
16270 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16273 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16274 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16275 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16277 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16278 regexp to match component groups.
16280 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16281 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16282 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16283 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16284 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16285 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16286 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16287 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16289 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16290 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16293 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16296 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16297 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16299 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16300 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16301 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16302 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16305 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16308 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16309 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16310 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16312 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16313 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16314 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16315 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16316 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16318 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16319 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16320 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16322 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16323 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16324 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16325 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16326 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16327 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16328 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16329 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16330 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16331 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16332 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16334 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16335 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16336 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16337 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16338 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16339 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16340 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16342 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16343 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16345 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16346 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16350 @node Kibozed Groups
16351 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16355 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16356 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16357 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16358 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16360 @kindex G k (Group)
16361 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16364 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16365 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16366 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16367 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16369 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16370 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16371 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16373 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16374 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16375 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16376 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16377 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16378 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16379 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16380 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16382 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16383 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16384 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16385 Stranger things have happened.
16387 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16388 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16390 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16391 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16392 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16393 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16394 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16395 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16397 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16398 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16401 @node Gnus Unplugged
16402 @section Gnus Unplugged
16407 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16409 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16410 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16411 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16412 read news. Believe it or not.
16414 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16415 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16416 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16417 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16418 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16420 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16421 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16422 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16423 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16424 reading news on a machine.
16426 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16427 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16429 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16432 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16433 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16434 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16435 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16436 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16437 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16438 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16439 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16440 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16441 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16442 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16447 @subsection Agent Basics
16449 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16451 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16452 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16453 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16454 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16456 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16457 connected to the net continuously.
16459 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16460 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16462 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16467 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16468 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16469 already fetched while in this mode.
16472 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16473 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16474 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16475 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16476 Source Specifiers}).
16479 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16480 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16481 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16482 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16483 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16486 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16487 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16488 then you read the news offline.
16491 And then you go to step 2.
16494 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16500 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16501 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16502 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16503 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16504 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16505 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16506 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16507 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16510 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16517 @node Agent Categories
16518 @subsection Agent Categories
16520 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16521 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16522 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16523 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16524 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16525 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16526 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16528 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16529 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16530 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16531 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16532 managing categories.
16535 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16536 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16537 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16541 @node Category Syntax
16542 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16544 A category consists of two things.
16548 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16549 are eligible for downloading; and
16552 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16553 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16554 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16557 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16558 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16559 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16560 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16562 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16563 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16564 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16566 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16567 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16568 operators sprinkled in between.
16570 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16572 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16573 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16579 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16580 short (for some value of ``short'').
16582 Here's a more complex predicate:
16591 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16592 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16595 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16596 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16597 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16599 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16600 you want to do, you can write your own.
16604 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16605 lines; default 100.
16608 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16609 lines; default 200.
16612 True iff the article has a download score less than
16613 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16616 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16617 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16620 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16621 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16622 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16631 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16632 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16633 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16636 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16637 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16638 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16639 something along the lines of the following:
16642 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16643 "Say whether an article is old."
16644 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16645 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16648 with the predicate then defined as:
16651 (not my-article-old-p)
16654 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16655 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16659 (require 'gnus-agent)
16660 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16661 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16662 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16665 and simply specify your predicate as:
16671 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16672 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16673 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16674 just don't give a damn.
16676 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16677 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16678 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16679 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16680 parameters like so:
16683 (agent-predicate . short)
16686 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16687 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16688 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16690 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16693 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16696 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16697 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16698 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16701 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16702 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16703 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16704 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16705 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16706 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16708 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16709 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16710 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16711 if it's to be specific to that group.
16713 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16720 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16721 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16727 Category specification
16731 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16737 Group Parameter specification
16740 (agent-score ("from"
16741 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16746 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16752 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16759 Category specification
16762 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16768 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16772 Group Parameter specification
16775 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16778 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16783 Use @code{normal} score files
16785 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16786 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16787 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16788 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16790 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16791 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16792 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16793 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16797 Category Specification
16804 Group Parameter specification
16807 (agent-score . file)
16812 @node Category Buffer
16813 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16815 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16816 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16817 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16819 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16823 @kindex q (Category)
16824 @findex gnus-category-exit
16825 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16828 @kindex k (Category)
16829 @findex gnus-category-kill
16830 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16833 @kindex c (Category)
16834 @findex gnus-category-copy
16835 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16838 @kindex a (Category)
16839 @findex gnus-category-add
16840 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16843 @kindex p (Category)
16844 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16845 Edit the predicate of the current category
16846 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16849 @kindex g (Category)
16850 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16851 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16852 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16855 @kindex s (Category)
16856 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16857 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16858 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16861 @kindex l (Category)
16862 @findex gnus-category-list
16863 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16867 @node Category Variables
16868 @subsubsection Category Variables
16871 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16872 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16873 Hook run in category buffers.
16875 @item gnus-category-line-format
16876 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16877 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16878 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16882 The name of the category.
16885 The number of groups in the category.
16888 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16889 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16890 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16892 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16893 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16894 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16896 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16897 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16898 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16900 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16901 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16902 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16905 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16906 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16907 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16913 @node Agent Commands
16914 @subsection Agent Commands
16916 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16917 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16918 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16922 * Group Agent Commands::
16923 * Summary Agent Commands::
16924 * Server Agent Commands::
16927 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16928 following incantation:
16930 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16932 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16937 @node Group Agent Commands
16938 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16942 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16943 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16944 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16945 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16948 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16949 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16950 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16953 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16954 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16955 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16956 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16959 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16960 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16961 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16962 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16965 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16966 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16967 Add the current group to an Agent category
16968 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16969 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16972 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16973 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16974 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16975 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16976 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16979 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16980 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16981 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16987 @node Summary Agent Commands
16988 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16992 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16993 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16994 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16997 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16998 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16999 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17000 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17003 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17004 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17005 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
17008 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17009 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17010 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
17013 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17014 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17015 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17016 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17021 @node Server Agent Commands
17022 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17026 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17027 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17028 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17029 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17032 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17033 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17034 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17035 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17040 @node Agent as Cache
17041 @subsection Agent as Cache
17043 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17044 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17045 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17046 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17047 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17048 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17049 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17050 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17051 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17053 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17054 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17057 @subsection Agent Expiry
17059 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17060 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17061 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17062 @cindex Agent expiry
17063 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17066 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17067 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17068 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17069 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17070 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17071 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17073 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17074 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17075 expiry in different groups.
17078 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17084 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17085 method---it must always match all groups.
17087 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17088 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17089 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17090 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17091 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17093 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17094 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17095 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17096 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17098 @node Agent and IMAP
17099 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17101 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17102 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17103 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17104 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17106 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17107 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17108 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17109 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17111 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17112 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17113 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17114 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17116 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17117 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17118 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17119 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17120 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17121 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17123 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17124 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17125 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17126 in the group buffer.
17128 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17129 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17134 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17137 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17141 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17142 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17143 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17144 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17145 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17146 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17147 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17148 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17151 @node Outgoing Messages
17152 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17154 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17155 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17156 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17158 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17159 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17160 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17161 messages in the draft group.
17165 @node Agent Variables
17166 @subsection Agent Variables
17169 @item gnus-agent-directory
17170 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17171 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17172 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17174 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17175 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17176 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17177 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17178 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17181 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17182 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17183 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17185 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17186 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17187 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17189 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17190 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17191 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17193 @item gnus-agent-cache
17194 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17195 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17196 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17197 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17199 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17200 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17201 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17202 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17203 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17204 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17205 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17208 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17209 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17210 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17211 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17212 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17213 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17214 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17215 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17216 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17221 @node Example Setup
17222 @subsection Example Setup
17224 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17225 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17226 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17229 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17230 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17231 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17233 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17234 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17235 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17237 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17238 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17240 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17241 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17242 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17245 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17246 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17249 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17250 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17251 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17252 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17253 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17256 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17257 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17258 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17259 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17260 back all the killed groups.)
17262 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17263 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17264 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17267 @node Batching Agents
17268 @subsection Batching Agents
17270 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17271 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17272 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17276 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17280 @node Agent Caveats
17281 @subsection Agent Caveats
17283 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17284 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17288 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17292 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17294 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17298 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17299 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17300 locally stored articles.
17307 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17308 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17309 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17312 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17313 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17314 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17315 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17316 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17318 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17319 before generating the summary buffer.
17321 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17322 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17323 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17325 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17326 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17327 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17328 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17331 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17332 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17333 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17334 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17335 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17336 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17337 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17338 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17339 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17340 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17341 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17342 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17343 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17344 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17345 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17346 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17347 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17351 @node Summary Score Commands
17352 @section Summary Score Commands
17353 @cindex score commands
17355 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17356 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17357 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17358 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17359 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17361 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17362 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17363 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17364 score file the current one.
17366 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17371 @kindex V s (Summary)
17372 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17373 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17376 @kindex V S (Summary)
17377 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17378 Display the score of the current article
17379 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17382 @kindex V t (Summary)
17383 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17384 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17385 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17388 @kindex V w (Summary)
17389 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17390 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17393 @kindex V R (Summary)
17394 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17395 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17396 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17397 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17398 effect you're having.
17401 @kindex V c (Summary)
17402 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17403 Make a different score file the current
17404 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17407 @kindex V e (Summary)
17408 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17409 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17410 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17414 @kindex V f (Summary)
17415 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17416 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17417 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17420 @kindex V F (Summary)
17421 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17422 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17423 after editing score files.
17426 @kindex V C (Summary)
17427 @findex gnus-score-customize
17428 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17429 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17433 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17438 @kindex V m (Summary)
17439 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17440 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17441 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17444 @kindex V x (Summary)
17445 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17446 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17447 expunge all articles below this score
17448 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17451 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17452 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17455 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17456 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17460 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17461 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17463 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17464 keys are available:
17468 Score on the author name.
17471 Score on the subject line.
17474 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17477 Score on the @code{References} line.
17483 Score on the number of lines.
17486 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17489 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17490 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17493 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17494 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17495 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17504 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17510 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17511 what headers you are scoring on.
17523 Substring matching.
17526 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17555 Greater than number.
17560 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17561 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17562 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17567 Temporary score entry.
17570 Permanent score entry.
17573 Immediately scoring.
17577 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17578 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17579 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17583 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17584 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17585 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17586 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17588 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17589 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17590 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17591 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17592 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17594 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17595 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17596 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17597 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17598 current score file.
17600 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17601 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17602 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17605 @node Group Score Commands
17606 @section Group Score Commands
17607 @cindex group score commands
17609 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17614 @kindex W f (Group)
17615 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17616 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17617 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17618 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17622 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17624 @findex gnus-batch-score
17625 @cindex batch scoring
17627 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17631 @node Score Variables
17632 @section Score Variables
17633 @cindex score variables
17637 @item gnus-use-scoring
17638 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17639 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17640 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17642 @item gnus-kill-killed
17643 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17644 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17645 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17646 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17647 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17648 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17649 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17651 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17652 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17653 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17654 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17655 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17657 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17658 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17659 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17660 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17662 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17663 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17664 @cindex score cache
17665 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17666 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17667 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17668 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17669 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17670 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17673 @item gnus-save-score
17674 @vindex gnus-save-score
17675 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17676 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17677 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17679 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17680 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17681 across group visits.
17683 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17684 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17685 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17686 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17687 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17688 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17689 manually entered data.
17691 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17692 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17693 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17695 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17696 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17697 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17698 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17699 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17700 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17702 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17703 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17704 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17705 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17707 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17708 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17709 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17710 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17712 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17713 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17714 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17715 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17717 Predefined functions available are:
17720 @item gnus-score-find-single
17721 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17722 Only apply the group's own score file.
17724 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17725 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17726 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17727 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17728 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17729 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17730 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17731 then a regexp match is done.
17733 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17734 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17736 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17737 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17738 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17739 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17741 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17742 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17743 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17744 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17745 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17749 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17750 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17751 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17752 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17753 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17754 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17755 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17758 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17759 overall score file, you could use the value
17761 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17762 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17765 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17766 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17767 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17768 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17769 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17771 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17772 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17773 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17774 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17775 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17776 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17777 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17778 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17780 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17781 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17782 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17784 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17785 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17786 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17787 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17788 threading---according to the current value of
17789 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17790 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17791 simplified in this manner.
17796 @node Score File Format
17797 @section Score File Format
17798 @cindex score file format
17800 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17801 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17802 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17804 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17808 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17810 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17812 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17814 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17819 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17823 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17824 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17825 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17826 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17830 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17831 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17833 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17834 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17835 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17837 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17842 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17843 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17844 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17845 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17846 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17847 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17848 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17849 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17850 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17851 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17852 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17853 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17854 to articles that matches these score entries.
17856 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17857 score entry has one to four elements.
17861 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17862 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17866 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17867 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17868 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17869 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17870 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17871 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17874 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17875 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17876 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17877 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17878 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17881 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17882 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17883 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17884 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17887 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17888 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17889 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17890 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17891 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17892 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17893 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17894 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17895 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17896 instead, if you feel like.
17899 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17900 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17901 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17902 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17903 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17904 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17907 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17911 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17912 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17914 These predicates are true if
17917 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17920 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17921 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17928 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17929 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17930 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17931 it's not. I think.)
17933 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17934 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17935 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17936 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17939 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17940 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17941 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17942 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17943 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17944 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17945 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17949 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17950 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17951 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17952 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17953 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17954 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17955 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17956 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17959 @item Head, Body, All
17960 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17964 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17965 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17966 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17967 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17968 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17969 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17970 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17974 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17975 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17976 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17977 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17978 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17979 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17980 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17981 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17982 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17983 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17984 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17988 @cindex Score File Atoms
17990 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17991 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17994 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17995 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17997 @item mark-and-expunge
17998 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17999 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18002 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18003 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18004 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18005 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18006 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18009 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18010 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18013 @item exclude-files
18014 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18015 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18019 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18020 ignored when handling global score files.
18023 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18024 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18025 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18026 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18029 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18030 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18031 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18032 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18034 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18038 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18041 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18042 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18043 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18044 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18045 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18047 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18048 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18049 scoring rules exist.
18052 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18053 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18054 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18055 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18056 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18057 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18058 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18059 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18060 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18061 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18062 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18066 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18067 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18068 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18069 file for a number of groups.
18072 @cindex local variables
18073 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18074 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18075 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18076 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18077 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18081 @node Score File Editing
18082 @section Score File Editing
18084 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18085 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18086 with a mode for that.
18088 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18089 additional commands:
18094 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18095 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18096 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18097 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18100 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18101 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18102 Insert the current date in numerical format
18103 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18104 you were wondering.
18107 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18108 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18109 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18110 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18111 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18116 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18118 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18119 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18121 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18122 e} to begin editing score files.
18125 @node Adaptive Scoring
18126 @section Adaptive Scoring
18127 @cindex adaptive scoring
18129 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18130 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18131 stupidity, to be precise.
18133 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18134 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18135 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18136 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18137 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18138 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18139 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18140 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18141 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18143 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18144 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18145 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18146 might look something like this:
18149 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18150 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18151 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18152 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18153 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18154 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18155 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18156 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18157 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18158 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18159 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18160 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18163 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18164 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18165 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18166 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18167 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18168 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18171 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18172 will be applied to each article.
18174 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18175 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18176 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18177 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18179 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18180 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18181 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18182 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18184 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18185 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18186 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18187 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18189 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18190 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18191 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18192 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18193 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18194 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18196 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18197 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18198 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18199 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18200 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18201 aspirins afterwards.)
18203 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18204 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18205 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18207 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18208 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18209 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18211 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18212 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18213 let you use different rules in different groups.
18215 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18216 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18217 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18220 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18221 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18222 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18223 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18224 the length of the match is less than
18225 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18226 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18229 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18230 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18231 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18232 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18233 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18236 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18237 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18238 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18239 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18240 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18243 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18244 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18245 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18246 score with 30 points.
18248 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18249 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18250 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18251 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18252 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18254 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18255 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18256 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18257 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18258 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18260 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18261 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18262 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18263 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18265 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18266 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18267 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18268 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18270 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18271 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18272 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18273 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18274 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18276 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18277 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18278 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18280 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18281 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18282 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18283 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18286 @node Home Score File
18287 @section Home Score File
18289 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18290 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18291 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18292 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18294 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18295 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18296 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18298 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18299 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18304 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18308 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18309 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18313 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18317 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18318 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18321 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18322 the home score file.
18325 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18328 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18333 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18336 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18337 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18340 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18341 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18343 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18345 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18346 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18349 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18350 Other functions include
18353 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18354 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18355 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18356 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18360 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18361 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18362 their own home score files:
18365 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18366 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18367 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18368 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18369 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18372 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18373 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18374 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18375 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18376 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18378 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18379 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18380 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18381 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18382 precedence over this variable.
18385 @node Followups To Yourself
18386 @section Followups To Yourself
18388 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18389 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18390 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18391 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18392 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18393 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18397 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18398 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18399 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18402 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18403 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18404 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18408 @vindex message-sent-hook
18409 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18410 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18412 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18416 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18417 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18421 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18422 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18425 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18426 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18431 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18435 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18436 is system-dependent.
18439 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18440 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18441 @cindex scoring on other headers
18443 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18444 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18445 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18446 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18447 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18449 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18450 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18451 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18452 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18453 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18455 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18458 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18459 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18462 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18463 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18464 time if you have much mail.
18466 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18467 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18473 @section Scoring Tips
18474 @cindex scoring tips
18480 @cindex scoring crossposts
18481 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18482 the @code{Xref} header.
18484 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18487 @item Multiple crossposts
18488 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18489 more than, say, 3 groups:
18492 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18496 @item Matching on the body
18497 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18498 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18499 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18500 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18501 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18502 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18503 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18506 @item Marking as read
18507 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18508 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18509 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18513 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18515 @item Negated character classes
18516 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18517 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18518 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18522 @node Reverse Scoring
18523 @section Reverse Scoring
18524 @cindex reverse scoring
18526 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18527 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18528 like this in your score file:
18532 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18537 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18538 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18541 @node Global Score Files
18542 @section Global Score Files
18543 @cindex global score files
18545 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18546 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18547 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18549 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18550 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18551 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18553 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18554 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18555 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18556 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18557 files are applicable to which group.
18559 To use the score file
18560 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18561 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18565 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18566 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18567 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18570 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18572 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18573 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18574 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18575 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18577 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18578 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18580 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18581 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18582 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18583 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18584 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18585 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18587 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18593 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18595 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18597 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18599 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18600 lowered out of existence.
18602 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18603 articles completely.
18606 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18607 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18608 old articles for a long time.
18611 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18612 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18613 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18614 holding our breath yet?
18618 @section Kill Files
18621 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18622 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18623 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18625 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18626 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18627 files into score files.
18629 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18630 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18631 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18632 that isn't a very good idea.
18634 Normal kill files look like this:
18637 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18638 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18642 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18643 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18645 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18646 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18649 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18654 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18655 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18656 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18659 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18660 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18661 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18664 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18669 @kindex M-k (Group)
18670 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18671 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18674 @kindex M-K (Group)
18675 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18676 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18679 Kill file variables:
18682 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18683 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18684 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18685 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18686 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18687 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18688 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18690 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18691 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18692 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18693 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18696 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18697 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18698 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18699 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18700 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18701 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18702 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18703 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18704 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18706 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18707 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18708 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18713 @node Converting Kill Files
18714 @section Converting Kill Files
18716 @cindex converting kill files
18718 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18719 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18720 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18723 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18724 You can fetch it from
18725 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18727 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18728 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18729 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18737 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18738 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18739 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18740 news articles generated every day.
18742 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18743 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18744 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18745 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18746 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18747 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18748 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18749 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18752 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18753 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18756 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18757 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18758 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18759 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18763 @node Using GroupLens
18764 @subsection Using GroupLens
18766 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18768 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18769 better bit in town at the moment.
18771 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18775 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18776 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18777 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18778 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18780 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18781 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18782 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18783 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18785 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18786 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18787 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18791 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18792 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18793 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18794 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18795 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18796 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18799 @node Rating Articles
18800 @subsection Rating Articles
18802 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18803 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18804 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18805 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18808 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18813 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18814 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18815 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18818 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18819 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18820 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18821 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18822 threads in rec.humor.
18826 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18827 the score of the article you're reading.
18832 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18833 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18834 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18837 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18838 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18839 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18843 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18844 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18847 @node Displaying Predictions
18848 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18850 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18851 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18852 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18853 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18854 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18856 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18857 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18858 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18859 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18860 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18861 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18862 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18863 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18864 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18865 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18866 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18867 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18868 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18870 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18871 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18872 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18873 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18875 The following are valid values for that variable.
18878 @item prediction-spot
18879 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18882 @item confidence-interval
18883 A numeric confidence interval.
18885 @item prediction-bar
18886 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18888 @item confidence-bar
18889 Numerical confidence.
18891 @item confidence-spot
18892 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18894 @item prediction-num
18895 Plain-old numeric value.
18897 @item confidence-plus-minus
18898 Prediction +/- confidence.
18903 @node GroupLens Variables
18904 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18908 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18909 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18910 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18911 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18914 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18915 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18918 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18919 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18921 @item grouplens-score-offset
18922 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18923 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18926 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18927 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18928 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18933 @node Advanced Scoring
18934 @section Advanced Scoring
18936 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18937 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18938 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18939 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18940 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18942 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18946 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18947 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18948 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18952 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18953 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18955 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18956 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18957 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18958 non-@code{nil} value.
18960 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18961 operator, and various match operators.
18968 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18969 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18970 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18975 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18976 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18977 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18982 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18983 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18987 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18988 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18989 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18990 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18991 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18992 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18993 the ancestry you want to go.
18995 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18996 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18997 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18998 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18999 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19002 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19003 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19005 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19006 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19009 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19010 when he's talking about Gnus:
19014 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19015 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19021 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19025 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19032 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19033 really don't want to read what he's written:
19037 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19038 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19042 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19043 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19044 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19051 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19052 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19053 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19054 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19058 The possibilities are endless.
19061 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19062 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19064 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19065 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19066 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19067 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19068 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19069 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19070 @samp{subject}) first.
19072 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19073 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19084 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19085 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19091 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19098 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19099 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19104 @section Score Decays
19105 @cindex score decays
19108 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19109 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19110 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19111 use them in any sensible way.
19113 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19114 @findex gnus-decay-score
19115 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19116 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19117 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19118 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19119 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19120 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19121 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19122 definition of that function:
19125 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19127 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19128 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19131 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19133 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19135 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19138 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19139 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19140 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19141 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19145 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19148 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19151 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19155 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19156 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19157 the new score, which should be an integer.
19159 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19160 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19165 @include message.texi
19166 @chapter Emacs MIME
19167 @include emacs-mime.texi
19169 @include sieve.texi
19179 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19180 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19181 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19182 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19183 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19184 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19185 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19186 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19187 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19188 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19189 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19190 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19191 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19192 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19193 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19194 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19195 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19196 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19197 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19201 @node Process/Prefix
19202 @section Process/Prefix
19203 @cindex process/prefix convention
19205 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19206 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19208 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19209 command to be performed on.
19213 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19214 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19215 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19216 with the current one.
19218 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19219 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19220 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19222 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19223 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19226 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19227 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19229 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19232 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19233 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19234 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19235 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19237 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19238 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19239 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19240 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19241 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19242 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19243 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19244 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19246 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19247 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19248 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19249 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19250 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19254 @section Interactive
19255 @cindex interaction
19259 @item gnus-novice-user
19260 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19261 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19262 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19263 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19264 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19267 @item gnus-expert-user
19268 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19269 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19270 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19271 matter how strange.
19273 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19274 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19275 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19276 is @code{t} by default.
19278 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19279 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19280 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19285 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19286 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19287 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19289 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19290 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19291 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19292 rule of 900 to the current article.
19294 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19295 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19296 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19297 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19298 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19299 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19300 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19302 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19303 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19304 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19305 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19306 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19307 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19308 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19309 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19310 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19312 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19313 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19314 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19316 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19320 @node Formatting Variables
19321 @section Formatting Variables
19322 @cindex formatting variables
19324 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19325 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19326 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19327 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19328 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19331 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19332 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19333 lots of percentages everywhere.
19336 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19337 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19338 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19339 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19340 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19341 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19342 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19343 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19346 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19347 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19348 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19349 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19350 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19351 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19352 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19353 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19355 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19356 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19358 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19359 @findex gnus-update-format
19360 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19361 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19362 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19363 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19367 @node Formatting Basics
19368 @subsection Formatting Basics
19370 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19371 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19372 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19374 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19375 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19376 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19377 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19378 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19381 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19382 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19383 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19384 less than 4 characters wide.
19386 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19387 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19390 @node Mode Line Formatting
19391 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19393 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19394 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19395 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19396 with the following two differences:
19401 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19404 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19405 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19406 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19407 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19408 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19409 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19410 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19415 @node Advanced Formatting
19416 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19418 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19419 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19420 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19421 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19423 These are the valid modifiers:
19428 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19432 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19437 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19440 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19445 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19448 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19451 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19454 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19460 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19465 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19466 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19467 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19468 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19469 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19470 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19471 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19473 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19474 last operation, padding.
19476 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19477 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19478 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19479 @xref{Compilation}.
19482 @node User-Defined Specs
19483 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19485 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19486 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19487 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19488 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19489 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19490 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19491 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19492 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19493 should protect against that.
19495 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19496 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19498 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19499 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19500 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19501 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19505 @node Formatting Fonts
19506 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19508 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19509 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19510 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19511 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19514 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19515 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19516 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19517 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19518 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19519 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19521 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19522 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19523 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19524 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19525 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19526 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19527 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19528 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19529 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19530 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19532 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19535 ;; Create three face types.
19536 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19537 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19539 ;; We want the article count to be in
19540 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19541 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19542 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19544 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19545 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19547 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19548 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19549 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19552 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19553 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19555 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19556 mode-line variables.
19558 @node Positioning Point
19559 @subsection Positioning Point
19561 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19562 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19563 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19565 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19567 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19568 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19569 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19571 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19572 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19573 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19578 @subsection Tabulation
19580 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19581 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19582 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19583 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19585 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19586 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19588 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19589 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19590 This is the soft tabulator.
19592 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19593 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19594 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19597 @node Wide Characters
19598 @subsection Wide Characters
19600 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19601 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19602 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19604 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19605 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19606 these coutries, that's not true.
19608 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19609 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19610 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19611 prettieer. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19615 @node Window Layout
19616 @section Window Layout
19617 @cindex window layout
19619 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19621 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19622 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19623 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19624 @code{t} by default.
19626 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19627 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19629 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19630 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19631 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19634 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19635 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19636 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19640 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19641 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19642 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19643 possible names is listed below.
19645 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19646 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19649 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19653 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19654 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19655 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19656 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19657 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19658 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19659 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19660 size spec per split.
19662 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19663 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19664 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19665 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19666 present) gets focus.
19668 Here's a more complicated example:
19671 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19672 (summary 0.25 point)
19673 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19677 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19678 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19679 occupy, not a percentage.
19681 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19682 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19683 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19684 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19685 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19688 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19691 (article (horizontal 1.0
19696 (summary 0.25 point)
19701 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19702 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19704 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19705 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19706 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19707 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19708 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19710 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19711 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19712 lines from the splits.
19714 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19718 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19719 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19720 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19721 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19722 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19723 size = number | frame-params
19724 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19727 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19728 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19729 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19730 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19732 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19733 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19734 @cindex window height
19735 @cindex window width
19736 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19737 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19738 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19739 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19740 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19741 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19743 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19744 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19745 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19746 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19748 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19749 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19750 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19751 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19752 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19753 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19754 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19755 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19756 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19757 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19758 configuration list.
19761 (gnus-configure-frame
19765 (article 0.3 point))
19773 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19774 @code{frame} split:
19777 (gnus-configure-frame
19780 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19782 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19783 (user-position . t)
19784 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19789 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19790 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19791 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19792 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19793 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19794 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19795 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19796 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19798 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19799 be found in its default value.
19801 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19802 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19803 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19807 (message (horizontal 1.0
19808 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19810 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19815 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19816 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19817 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19822 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19823 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19824 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19825 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19826 (name . "Message"))
19827 (message 1.0 point))))
19830 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19831 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19832 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19833 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19834 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19837 (gnus-add-configuration
19838 '(article (vertical 1.0
19840 (summary .25 point)
19844 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19845 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19846 Gnus has been loaded.
19848 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19849 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19850 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19851 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19852 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19854 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19855 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19856 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19859 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19863 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19864 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19879 (gnus-add-configuration
19882 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19884 (summary 0.16 point)
19887 (gnus-add-configuration
19890 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19891 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19897 @node Faces and Fonts
19898 @section Faces and Fonts
19903 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19904 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19905 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19910 @section Compilation
19911 @cindex compilation
19912 @cindex byte-compilation
19914 @findex gnus-compile
19916 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19917 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19918 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19919 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19920 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19921 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19924 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19925 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19926 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19927 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19928 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19929 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19930 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19934 @section Mode Lines
19937 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19938 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19939 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19940 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19941 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19942 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19943 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19946 @cindex display-time
19948 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19949 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19950 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19951 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19952 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19953 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19954 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19955 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19958 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19960 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19961 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19963 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19964 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19965 (length display-time-string)))))
19968 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19969 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19970 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19971 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19972 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19975 @node Highlighting and Menus
19976 @section Highlighting and Menus
19978 @cindex highlighting
19981 @vindex gnus-visual
19982 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19983 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19984 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19987 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19988 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19991 @item group-highlight
19992 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19993 @item summary-highlight
19994 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19995 @item article-highlight
19996 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19998 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20000 Create menus in the group buffer.
20002 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20004 Create menus in the article buffer.
20006 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20008 Create menus in the server buffer.
20010 Create menus in the score buffers.
20012 Create menus in all buffers.
20015 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20016 buffers, you could say something like:
20019 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20022 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20025 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20028 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20029 in all Gnus buffers.
20031 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20034 @item gnus-mouse-face
20035 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20036 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20037 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20041 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20045 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20046 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20047 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20049 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20050 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20051 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20053 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20054 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20055 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20057 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20058 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20059 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20061 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20062 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20063 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20065 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20066 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20067 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20078 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20079 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20080 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20081 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20082 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20086 @vindex gnus-carpal
20087 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20088 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20089 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20094 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20095 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20096 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20098 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20099 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20100 Face used on buttons.
20102 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20103 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20104 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20106 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20107 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20108 Buttons in the group buffer.
20110 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20111 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20112 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20114 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20115 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20116 Buttons in the server buffer.
20118 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20119 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20120 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20123 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20124 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20125 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20133 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20134 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20135 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20136 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20137 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20139 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20140 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20141 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20143 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20144 been idle for thirty minutes:
20147 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20150 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20154 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20157 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20158 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20159 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20161 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20162 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20163 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20164 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20166 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20167 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20168 @var{idle} minutes.
20170 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20171 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20174 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20175 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20176 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20178 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20179 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20180 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20181 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20183 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20184 your @file{.gnus} file:
20186 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20188 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20191 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20192 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20193 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20194 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20195 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20196 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20197 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20198 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20199 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20200 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20201 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20203 @findex gnus-demon-init
20204 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20205 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20206 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20207 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20208 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20210 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20211 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20212 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20221 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20222 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20224 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20225 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20226 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20227 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20230 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20231 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20232 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20233 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20235 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20236 this will make spam disappear.
20238 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20241 @item gnus-use-nocem
20242 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20243 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20246 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20247 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20248 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20249 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20250 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20252 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20253 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20254 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20255 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20256 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20257 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20259 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20260 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20262 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20263 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20264 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20265 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20266 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20267 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20268 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20269 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20270 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20271 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20273 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20274 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20277 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20280 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20281 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20284 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20287 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20290 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20291 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20293 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20294 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20295 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20296 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20298 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20299 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20302 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20304 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20312 This might be dangerous, though.
20314 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20315 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20316 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20317 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20319 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20320 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20321 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20322 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20323 might then see old spam.
20325 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20326 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20327 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20328 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20329 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20332 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20333 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20334 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20335 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20339 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20340 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20341 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20342 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20349 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20350 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20351 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20353 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20354 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20355 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20356 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20357 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20358 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20359 @code{undo} function.
20361 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20362 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20363 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20364 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20365 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20366 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20367 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20368 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20369 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20370 never be totally undoable.
20372 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20373 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20375 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20376 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20377 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20378 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20382 @node Predicate Specifiers
20383 @section Predicate Specifiers
20384 @cindex predicate specifiers
20386 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20387 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20388 to type all that much.
20390 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20395 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20396 gnus-article-unread-p)
20399 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20400 functions all take one parameter.
20402 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20403 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20404 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20405 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20410 @section Moderation
20413 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20414 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20415 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20418 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20422 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20425 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20427 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20432 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20433 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20434 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20437 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20438 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20441 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20442 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20446 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20449 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20450 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20454 @node Image Enhancements
20455 @section Image Enhancements
20457 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20458 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20461 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20462 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20463 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20464 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20465 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20478 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20479 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20480 over your shoulder as you read news.
20483 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20484 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20485 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20486 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20487 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20492 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20494 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20503 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20504 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20505 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20506 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20507 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20508 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20509 @code{GIF} formats.
20512 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20513 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20514 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20515 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20516 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20518 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20519 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20520 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20521 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20522 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20523 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20525 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20526 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20529 @node Picon Requirements
20530 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20532 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20533 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20534 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20535 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20537 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20538 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20539 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20540 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20541 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20542 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20545 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20547 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20548 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20551 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20552 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20555 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20556 containing the Picons databases.
20558 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20561 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20562 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20567 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20575 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20576 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20577 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20578 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20579 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20584 @item gnus-picons-database
20585 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20586 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20587 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20588 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20589 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20590 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20592 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20593 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20594 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20595 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20596 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20597 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20598 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20600 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20601 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20602 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20603 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20604 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20605 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20606 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20607 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20609 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20610 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20611 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20616 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20617 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20619 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20620 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20623 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20625 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20626 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20627 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20628 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20630 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20631 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20632 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20633 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20639 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20640 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20648 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20649 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20650 don't need to worry about.
20654 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20655 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20656 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20657 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20659 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20660 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20661 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20662 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20664 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20665 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20666 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20667 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20668 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20670 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20671 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20672 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20673 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20674 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20675 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20676 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20677 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20679 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20680 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20681 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20682 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20683 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20685 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20686 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20687 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20688 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20689 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20690 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20691 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20693 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20694 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20695 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20696 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20698 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20699 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20700 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20701 Defaults to @code{t}.
20703 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20704 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20705 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20706 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20708 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20709 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20710 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20712 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20713 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20714 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20715 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20717 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20718 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20720 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20721 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20722 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20723 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20724 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20725 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20726 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20727 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20738 @subsection Smileys
20743 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20748 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20749 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20751 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20752 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20755 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20758 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20759 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20760 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20761 text and maps that to file names.
20763 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20764 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20765 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20766 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20767 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20768 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20770 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20771 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20773 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20774 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20775 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20777 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20778 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20782 @item smiley-data-directory
20783 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20784 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20786 @item smiley-flesh-color
20787 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20788 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20790 @item smiley-features-color
20791 @vindex smiley-features-color
20792 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20794 @item smiley-tongue-color
20795 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20796 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20798 @item smiley-circle-color
20799 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20800 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20802 @item smiley-mouse-face
20803 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20804 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20813 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20814 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20815 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20819 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20820 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20821 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20822 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20830 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20831 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20832 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20833 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20835 The variable that controls this is the
20836 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20837 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20838 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20839 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20840 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20842 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20843 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20844 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20845 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20848 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20849 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20850 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20851 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20852 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20853 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20854 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20855 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20857 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20860 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20861 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20863 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20864 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20865 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20866 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20867 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20868 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20870 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20871 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20872 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20874 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20875 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20878 (setq message-required-news-headers
20879 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20880 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20883 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20886 (setq message-required-news-headers
20887 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20888 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20889 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20890 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20895 @subsection Toolbar
20905 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20906 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20907 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20908 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20909 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20911 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20912 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20913 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20915 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20916 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20917 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20919 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20920 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20921 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20927 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20930 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20931 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20932 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20933 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20934 unusual directory structure.
20936 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20937 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20938 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20939 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20941 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20942 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20943 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20944 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20945 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20946 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20948 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20949 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20950 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20964 @node Fuzzy Matching
20965 @section Fuzzy Matching
20966 @cindex fuzzy matching
20968 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20969 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20971 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20972 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20973 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20975 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20976 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20977 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20978 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20979 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20982 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20983 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20987 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20989 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20990 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20991 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20992 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20993 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20994 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20995 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20996 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20999 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21000 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21001 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21002 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21003 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21004 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21006 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21009 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21010 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21011 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21012 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21013 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
21014 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
21017 @node The problem of spam
21018 @subsection The problem of spam
21020 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21021 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21023 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21025 First, some background on spam.
21027 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21028 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21029 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21030 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21031 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21032 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21033 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21034 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21036 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21037 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21038 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21039 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21040 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21041 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21042 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21043 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21044 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21047 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21048 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21049 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21050 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21051 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21052 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21053 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21054 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21055 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21056 mail can be useful.
21058 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21059 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21060 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21061 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21062 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21063 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21064 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21065 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21066 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21068 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21069 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21070 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21071 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21072 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21073 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21074 because of the incident.
21076 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21077 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21078 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21079 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21080 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21081 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21082 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21083 to store the database of spam analyses.
21085 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21086 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21090 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21092 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21093 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21095 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21096 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21097 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21098 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21099 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21100 part of the mail address.)
21103 (setq message-default-news-headers
21104 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21107 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21108 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21113 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21114 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21115 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21121 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21122 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21123 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21124 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21126 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21127 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21128 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21129 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21130 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21131 your fancy split rule in this way:
21136 (to "larsi" "misc")
21140 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21141 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21142 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21143 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21144 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21146 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21147 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21148 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21149 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21150 cosmic balance somewhat.
21152 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21153 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21154 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21155 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21160 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21161 @cindex SpamAssassin
21162 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21165 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21166 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21167 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21168 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21169 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21170 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21171 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21173 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21174 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21175 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21176 Specifiers}) follows.
21180 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21183 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21186 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21187 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21188 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21191 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21195 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21198 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21199 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21203 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21204 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21205 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21206 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21209 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21211 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21213 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21214 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21216 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21218 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21219 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21223 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21224 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21225 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21228 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21229 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21231 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21232 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21233 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21237 @subsection Hashcash
21240 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21241 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21242 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21243 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21244 in smaller communities.
21246 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21247 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21248 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21249 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21250 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21251 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21252 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21253 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21254 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21255 one of them separately.
21258 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21259 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21260 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21261 header. For more details, and for the external application
21262 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21263 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21264 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21266 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21270 (require 'hashcash)
21271 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21274 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21275 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21276 development contrib directory.
21278 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21282 @item hashcash-default-payment
21283 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21284 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21285 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21286 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21288 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21289 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21290 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21291 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21292 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21293 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21294 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21295 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21299 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21303 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21304 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21305 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21306 a useful contribution, however.
21308 @node Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21309 @subsection Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21310 @cindex spam filtering
21313 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21314 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21315 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam.
21317 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21318 the following keyboard commands:
21328 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21329 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21331 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21332 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21333 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group.
21339 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21340 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21342 You must have bogofilter processing enabled for that command to work
21349 Gnus can learn from the spam you get. All you have to do is collect
21350 your spam in one or more spam groups, and set the variable
21351 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. In these groups, all messages
21352 are considered to be spam by default: they get the @samp{H} mark. You must
21353 review these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21354 every message that is not spam after all. When you leave a spam
21355 group, all messages that continue with the @samp{H} mark, are passed on to
21356 the spam-detection engine (bogofilter, ifile, and others). To remove
21357 the @samp{H} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21358 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all @samp{H}
21359 marked articles, saved or unsaved, are sent to Bogofilter or ifile
21360 (depending on @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-ifile}), which will study
21361 them as spam samples.
21363 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21364 @code{spam-ham-marks-form} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and @samp{r} for
21365 default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and @samp{K} for automatic or
21366 explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for low scores, are all considered
21367 to be associated with articles which are not spam. This assumption
21368 might be false, in particular if you use kill files or score files as
21369 means for detecting genuine spam, you should then adjust
21370 @code{spam-ham-marks-form}. When you leave a group, all _unsaved_ articles
21371 bearing any the above marks are sent to Bogofilter or ifile, which
21372 will study these as not-spam samples. If you explicit kill a lot, you
21373 might sometimes end up with articles marked @samp{K} which you never saw,
21374 and which might accidentally contain spam. Best is to make sure that
21375 real spam is marked with @samp{H}, and nothing else.
21377 All other marks do not contribute to Bogofilter or ifile
21378 pre-conditioning. In particular, ticked, dormant or souped articles
21379 are likely to contribute later, when they will get deleted for real,
21380 so there is no need to use them prematurely. Explicitly expired
21381 articles do not contribute, command @kbd{E} is a way to get rid of an
21382 article without Bogofilter or ifile ever seeing it.
21384 @strong{TODO: @code{spam-use-ifile} does not process spam articles on group exit.
21385 I'm waiting for info from the author of @code{ifile-gnus.el}, because I think
21386 that functionality should go in @code{ifile-gnus.el} rather than @code{spam.el}.}
21388 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21389 must add the following to your fancy split list
21390 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21396 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21397 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21398 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21400 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the mail
21401 considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21402 @code{spam-split-group}. Usually that group name is @samp{spam}.
21404 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21408 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21409 * BBDB Whitelists::
21412 * Ifile spam filtering::
21413 * Extending spam.el::
21416 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21417 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21418 @cindex spam filtering
21419 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21420 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21423 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21424 Set this variables to t (the default) if you want to use blacklists.
21427 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21428 Set this variables to t if you want to use whitelists.
21431 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21432 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21433 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21434 blacklist. Since you start out with an empty blacklist, no harm is
21435 done by having the @code{spam-use-blacklist} variable set, so it is
21436 set by default. Blacklist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21439 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21440 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21441 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21442 whitelists is very comprehensive. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}.
21443 Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21445 The Blacklist and whitelist location can be customized with the
21446 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default). The whitelist
21447 and blacklist files will be in that directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21448 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21450 @node BBDB Whitelists
21451 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21452 @cindex spam filtering
21453 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21454 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21457 @defvar spam-use-bbdb
21459 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21460 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21461 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21462 @code{spam-use-bbdb} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21463 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21468 @subsubsection Blackholes
21469 @cindex spam filtering
21470 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21473 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21475 You can let Gnus consult the blackhole-type distributed spam
21476 processing systems (DCC, for instance) when you set this option. The
21477 variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers} holds the list of blackhole servers
21480 This variable is disabled by default. It is not recommended at this
21481 time because of bugs in the @code{dns.el} code.
21486 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21487 @cindex spam filtering
21488 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21491 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21493 Set this variable if you want to use Eric Raymond's speedy Bogofilter.
21494 This has been tested with a locally patched copy of version 0.4. Make
21495 sure to read the installation comments in @code{spam.el}.
21497 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21498 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21499 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21500 category, spam or not. The shell command @command{head -1
21501 ~/.bogofilter/*} shows both article counts. The command @kbd{S t} in
21502 summary mode, either for debugging or for curiosity, triggers
21503 Bogofilter into displaying in another buffer the @emph{spamicity}
21504 score of the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0), together with the
21505 article words which most significantly contribute to the score.
21509 @node Ifile spam filtering
21510 @subsubsection Ifile spam filtering
21511 @cindex spam filtering
21512 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21515 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21517 Enable this variable if you want to use Ifile, a statistical analyzer
21518 similar to Bogofilter. Currently you must have @code{ifile-gnus.el}
21519 loaded. The integration of Ifile with @code{spam.el} is not finished
21520 yet, but you can use @code{ifile-gnus.el} on its own if you like.
21524 @node Extending spam.el
21525 @subsubsection Extending spam.el
21526 @cindex spam filtering
21527 @cindex spam.el, extending
21528 @cindex extending spam.el
21530 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. Provide the following:
21540 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21541 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21546 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21548 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21553 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21554 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21555 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21558 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21559 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21560 @cindex Paul Graham
21561 @cindex Graham, Paul
21562 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21563 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21564 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21566 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21567 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21568 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21569 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21570 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21571 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21572 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21573 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21574 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21577 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21578 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21579 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21580 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21581 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21582 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21583 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21584 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21586 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21587 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21588 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21589 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21590 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21593 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21594 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21595 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21598 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21599 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21601 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21602 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
21603 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
21604 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
21605 need several hundred emails in both collections.
21607 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
21608 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
21609 per mail. Use the following:
21611 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
21612 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
21613 is treated as one spam mail.
21616 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
21617 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
21618 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
21621 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
21622 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
21623 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
21624 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
21625 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
21626 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
21629 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
21630 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
21631 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
21632 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
21634 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
21635 reset the dictionary.
21639 @defun spam-stat-reset
21640 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
21642 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
21643 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
21644 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
21645 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
21646 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
21647 only non-spam mails.
21650 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
21651 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
21652 to update the dictionary incrementally.
21655 @defun spam-stat-save
21656 Save the dictionary.
21659 @defvar spam-stat-file
21660 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
21661 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
21664 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
21665 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
21667 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
21668 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
21671 (require 'spam-stat)
21675 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
21678 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
21679 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. In the simplest case, you only have
21680 two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says
21681 that mail is either spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is
21682 spam, then @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
21685 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
21686 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
21690 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
21691 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
21694 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
21695 the following expression. It only the mails not matching the regular
21696 expression are considered potential spam.
21699 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
21700 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
21701 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
21705 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
21706 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
21707 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
21708 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
21709 mails, when creating the dictionary!
21712 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
21713 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
21714 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
21718 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
21719 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
21720 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
21721 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
21722 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
21726 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
21727 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
21728 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
21729 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
21734 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
21735 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
21737 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
21739 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
21740 called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail;
21741 use this for new mail that has not been processed before
21745 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
21746 called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
21747 mail; use this for new mail that has not been processed before
21751 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
21752 called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
21753 mail but spam; use this to change the status of a mail that has
21754 already been processed as non-spam
21758 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
21759 called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
21760 normal mail; use this to change the status of a mail that has already
21761 been processed as spam
21765 @defun spam-stat-save
21766 save the hash table to the file; the filename used is stored in the
21767 variable @code{spam-stat-file}
21771 @defun spam-stat-load
21772 load the hash table from a file; the filename used is stored in the
21773 variable @code{spam-stat-file}
21777 @defun spam-stat-score-word
21778 return the spam score for a word
21782 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
21783 return the spam score for a buffer
21787 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
21788 for fancy mail splitting; add the rule @samp{(: spam-stat-split-fancy)} to
21789 @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21791 This requires the following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
21794 (require 'spam-stat)
21800 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
21803 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
21804 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
21805 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
21806 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
21807 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
21808 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
21809 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
21810 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
21811 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
21812 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
21813 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
21814 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
21815 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
21816 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
21819 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
21822 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
21823 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
21824 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
21825 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
21826 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
21827 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
21830 @node Various Various
21831 @section Various Various
21837 @item gnus-home-directory
21838 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21839 defaults to @file{~/}.
21841 @item gnus-directory
21842 @vindex gnus-directory
21843 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21844 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21845 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21847 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21848 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21849 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21850 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21852 @item gnus-default-directory
21853 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21854 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21855 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21856 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21857 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21858 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21859 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21862 @vindex gnus-verbose
21863 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21864 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21865 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21866 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21867 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21869 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21870 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21871 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21872 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21874 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21875 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21876 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21877 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21878 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21879 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21880 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21881 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21882 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21883 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21885 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21886 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21887 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21888 read when doing the operation described above.
21890 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21891 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21893 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21894 @cindex characters in file names
21895 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21896 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21897 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21900 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21904 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21905 Windows (phooey) systems.
21907 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21908 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21909 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21910 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21911 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21913 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21914 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21915 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21916 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21917 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21919 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21920 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21921 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21923 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21924 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21926 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21927 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21928 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21929 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21932 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21940 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21941 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21943 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21945 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21951 Not because of victories @*
21954 but for the common sunshine,@*
21956 the largess of the spring.
21960 but for the day's work done@*
21961 as well as I was able;@*
21962 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21963 but at the common table.@*
21968 @chapter Appendices
21971 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21972 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21973 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21974 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21975 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21976 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21977 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21978 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21979 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21986 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21988 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21989 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21990 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21991 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21992 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}. The @samp{misc-games}
21993 package is required for Morse decoding.
22000 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22001 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22003 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22004 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22005 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22006 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22007 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22009 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22010 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22011 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22012 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22013 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22014 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22016 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22017 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22018 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22019 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22022 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22023 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22024 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22025 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22026 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22027 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22028 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22029 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22030 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22034 @node Gnus Versions
22035 @subsection Gnus Versions
22037 @cindex September Gnus
22039 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22040 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22044 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22045 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22046 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22048 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22049 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22051 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22052 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22054 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22055 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22057 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22058 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22061 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22063 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22064 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22065 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22066 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22067 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22068 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22071 @node Other Gnus Versions
22072 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22075 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22076 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22077 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22078 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22080 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22081 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22082 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22083 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22090 What's the point of Gnus?
22092 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22093 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22094 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22095 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22096 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22097 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22098 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22099 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22100 keep track of millions of people who post?
22102 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22103 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22104 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22105 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22106 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22107 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22108 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22109 every one of you to explore and invent.
22111 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22112 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22115 @node Compatibility
22116 @subsection Compatibility
22118 @cindex compatibility
22119 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22120 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22121 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22126 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22130 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22133 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22136 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22137 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22138 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22139 important variables have their values copied into their global
22140 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22141 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22143 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22144 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22145 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22146 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22147 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22151 @cindex highlighting
22152 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22153 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22154 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22155 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22156 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22157 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22160 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22161 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22162 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22163 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22165 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22166 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22167 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22168 to stop doing it the old way.
22170 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22172 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22174 @cindex reporting bugs
22176 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22177 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22178 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22180 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22181 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22182 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22183 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22188 @subsection Conformity
22190 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22191 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22199 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22203 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22205 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22206 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22207 We do have some breaches to this one.
22213 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22214 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22215 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22216 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22217 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22222 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22223 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22224 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22225 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22227 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22229 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22231 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22232 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22234 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22237 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22238 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22239 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22240 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22241 decoding (verification and decryption).
22243 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22244 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22245 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22246 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22248 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22249 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22251 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22252 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22253 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22254 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22255 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22256 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22257 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22261 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22262 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22267 @subsection Emacsen
22273 Gnus should work on :
22281 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
22285 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22286 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22289 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22290 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22291 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22295 @node Gnus Development
22296 @subsection Gnus Development
22298 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22299 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22300 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22301 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22302 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22303 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22304 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22305 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22307 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22308 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22309 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22310 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22311 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22314 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22315 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22316 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22317 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22318 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22320 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22321 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22322 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22323 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22324 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22325 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22326 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22327 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22328 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22329 can't be assumed to do so.
22334 @subsection Contributors
22335 @cindex contributors
22337 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22338 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22339 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22340 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22341 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22342 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22343 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22344 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22345 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22346 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22348 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22354 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22357 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22358 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22359 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22360 functionality and stuff.
22363 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22364 well as numerous other things).
22367 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22370 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22373 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22376 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22379 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22380 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22383 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22386 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22387 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22390 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22393 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22396 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22399 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22402 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22403 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22406 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22409 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22412 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22415 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22419 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22422 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22425 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22428 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22429 well as autoconf support.
22433 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22434 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22436 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22445 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22449 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22459 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22474 Massimo Campostrini,
22479 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22480 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22484 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22487 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22493 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22498 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22502 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22510 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22512 Michelangelo Grigni,
22516 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22518 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22520 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22527 François Felix Ingrand,
22528 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22529 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22531 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22542 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22543 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22545 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22546 Thor Kristoffersen,
22549 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22567 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22568 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22575 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22580 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22584 John McClary Prevost,
22590 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22595 Christian von Roques,
22598 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22605 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22607 Randal L. Schwartz,
22621 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22626 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22642 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
22647 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
22648 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
22649 (550kB and counting).
22651 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
22654 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
22655 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
22659 @subsection New Features
22660 @cindex new features
22663 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
22664 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
22665 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
22666 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
22667 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
22670 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
22671 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
22672 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
22675 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
22677 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
22682 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
22683 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
22686 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
22687 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
22690 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
22693 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
22694 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
22695 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
22698 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
22699 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22700 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22701 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22704 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22705 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22708 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22709 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22710 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22713 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22714 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22717 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22718 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22719 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22722 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22723 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22724 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22727 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22728 the @file{.emacs} file.
22731 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22732 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22735 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22736 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22739 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22740 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22743 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22744 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22747 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22748 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22751 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22754 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22755 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22758 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22759 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22762 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22763 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22766 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22769 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22770 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22773 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22777 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22781 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22782 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22785 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22791 @node September Gnus
22792 @subsubsection September Gnus
22796 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22800 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22805 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22806 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22810 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22811 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22815 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22819 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22820 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22823 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22827 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22830 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22833 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22836 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22840 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22841 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22844 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22848 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22852 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22856 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22860 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22863 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22864 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22867 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22871 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22872 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22875 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22878 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22879 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22880 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22883 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22887 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22890 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22894 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22895 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22898 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22899 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22902 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22903 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22906 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22907 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22908 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22911 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22912 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22915 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22918 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22921 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22924 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22927 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22928 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22931 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22935 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22938 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22943 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22946 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22950 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22953 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22957 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22960 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22963 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22964 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22967 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22968 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22972 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22973 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22976 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22980 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22981 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22984 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22987 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22991 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22995 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22996 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22999 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23003 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23004 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23007 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23008 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23011 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23015 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23018 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23021 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23027 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23029 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23033 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23040 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23043 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23044 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23047 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23048 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23052 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23053 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23056 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23059 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23060 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23063 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23067 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23068 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23072 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23073 Server Internals}).
23076 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23080 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23083 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23084 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23087 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23088 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23089 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23092 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23093 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23096 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23097 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23100 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23104 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23105 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23108 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23109 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23112 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23116 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23119 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23123 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23124 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23127 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23128 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23131 A new command for reading collections of documents
23132 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23133 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23136 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23140 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23141 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23144 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23145 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23146 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23149 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23150 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23154 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23158 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23162 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23167 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23171 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23175 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23176 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23179 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23185 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23187 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23192 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23193 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23194 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23197 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23198 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23199 group, which is created automatically.
23202 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23206 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23209 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23210 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23213 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23217 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23220 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23221 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23224 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23227 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23228 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23231 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23232 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23235 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23236 control over simplification.
23239 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23242 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23246 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23249 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23252 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23253 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23254 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23257 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23258 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23261 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23265 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23266 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23269 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23270 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23273 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23277 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23280 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23283 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23284 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23287 A new function for citing in Message has been
23288 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23291 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23294 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23298 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23299 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23302 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23303 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23306 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23309 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23313 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23314 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23316 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23321 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23322 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23324 If you used procmail like in
23327 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23328 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23329 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23330 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23333 this now has changed to
23337 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23341 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23342 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23345 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23346 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23349 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23350 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23353 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23354 called to position point.
23357 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23358 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23361 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23362 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23365 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23366 subtly different manner.
23369 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23370 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23371 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23374 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23382 @section The Manual
23386 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23387 either @code{texi2dvi}
23389 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23390 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23392 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23394 The following conventions have been used:
23399 This is a @samp{string}
23402 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23405 This is a @file{file}
23408 This is a @code{symbol}
23412 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23416 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23419 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23422 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23425 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23426 ever get them confused.
23430 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23431 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23432 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23433 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23434 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23435 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23436 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23442 @node On Writing Manuals
23443 @section On Writing Manuals
23445 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23446 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23447 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23448 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23449 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23450 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23453 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23454 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23455 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23458 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23459 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23464 @section Terminology
23466 @cindex terminology
23471 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23472 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23473 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23474 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23475 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23479 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23480 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23481 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23482 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23486 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23490 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23495 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23496 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23497 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23498 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23499 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23500 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23501 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23502 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23503 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23505 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23506 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23507 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23508 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23509 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23512 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23513 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23514 access the articles.
23516 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23517 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23518 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23523 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23524 default, way of getting news.
23528 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23529 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23534 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23535 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23539 A message that has been posted as news.
23542 @cindex mail message
23543 A message that has been mailed.
23547 A mail message or news article
23551 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23556 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23561 A line from the head of an article.
23565 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23566 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23570 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23571 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23572 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23573 normal @sc{head} format.
23577 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23578 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23579 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23580 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23581 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23582 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23584 @item killed groups
23585 @cindex killed groups
23586 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23587 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23589 @item zombie groups
23590 @cindex zombie groups
23591 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23594 @cindex active file
23595 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23596 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23597 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23600 @cindex bogus groups
23601 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23602 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23603 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23606 @cindex activating groups
23607 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23608 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23609 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23613 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23615 @item select method
23616 @cindex select method
23617 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23620 @item virtual server
23621 @cindex virtual server
23622 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23623 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23624 whole is a virtual server.
23628 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23629 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
23632 @item ephemeral groups
23633 @cindex ephemeral groups
23634 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
23635 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
23636 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23639 @cindex solid groups
23640 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23641 group buffer are solid groups.
23643 @item sparse articles
23644 @cindex sparse articles
23645 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
23646 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
23650 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
23651 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
23655 @cindex thread root
23656 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
23657 articles in the thread.
23661 An article that has responses.
23665 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
23669 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
23670 specified by RFC 1153.
23676 @node Customization
23677 @section Customization
23678 @cindex general customization
23680 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
23681 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
23682 for some quite common situations.
23685 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
23686 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
23687 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
23688 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
23692 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
23693 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
23695 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
23696 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
23697 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23701 @item gnus-read-active-file
23702 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23703 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23704 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23705 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23706 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23708 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23709 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23710 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23711 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23715 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23716 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23718 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23719 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23720 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23724 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23725 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23726 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23727 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23728 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23730 @item gnus-visible-headers
23731 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23732 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23733 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23734 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23736 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23738 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23739 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23740 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23743 @item gnus-use-full-window
23744 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23745 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23746 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23747 want to read them anyway.
23749 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23750 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23754 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23755 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23756 lines, which might save some time.
23760 @node Little Disk Space
23761 @subsection Little Disk Space
23764 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23765 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23769 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23770 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23771 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23772 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23775 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23776 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23777 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23778 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23781 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23782 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23783 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23784 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23785 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23791 @subsection Slow Machine
23792 @cindex slow machine
23794 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23795 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23797 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23798 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23800 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23801 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23802 summary buffer faster.
23806 @node Troubleshooting
23807 @section Troubleshooting
23808 @cindex troubleshooting
23810 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23818 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23821 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23822 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23826 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23827 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23828 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23829 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23832 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23836 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23837 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23838 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23839 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23840 something like that.
23843 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23846 @cindex reporting bugs
23848 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23850 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23851 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23852 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23853 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23855 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23856 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23857 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23858 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23861 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23862 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23863 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23864 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23865 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23866 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23868 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23869 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23870 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23874 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23875 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23878 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23879 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23880 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23881 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23882 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23883 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23884 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23885 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23886 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23887 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23888 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23889 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23890 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23891 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23893 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23894 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23896 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23897 @cindex ding mailing list
23898 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23899 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23903 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23904 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23906 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23907 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23908 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23909 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23912 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23913 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23914 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23915 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23916 and general methods of operation.
23919 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23920 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23921 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23922 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23923 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23924 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23925 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23926 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23927 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23931 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23932 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23933 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23934 @cindex utility functions
23936 @cindex internal variables
23938 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23939 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23940 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23944 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23945 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23946 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23948 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23949 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23950 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23952 @item gnus-group-real-name
23953 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23954 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23957 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23958 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23959 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23960 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23962 @item gnus-get-info
23963 @findex gnus-get-info
23964 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23966 @item gnus-group-unread
23967 @findex gnus-group-unread
23968 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23972 @findex gnus-active
23973 The active entry for @var{group}.
23975 @item gnus-set-active
23976 @findex gnus-set-active
23977 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23979 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23980 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23981 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23984 @item gnus-continuum-version
23985 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23986 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23987 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23990 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23991 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23992 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23994 @item gnus-news-group-p
23995 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23996 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23998 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23999 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24000 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24002 @item gnus-server-to-method
24003 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24004 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24006 @item gnus-server-equal
24007 @findex gnus-server-equal
24008 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24010 @item gnus-group-native-p
24011 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24012 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24014 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24015 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24016 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24018 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24019 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24020 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24022 @item group-group-find-parameter
24023 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24024 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24025 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24027 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24028 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24029 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24031 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24032 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24033 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24035 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24036 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24037 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24038 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24041 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24045 @item gnus-read-method
24046 @findex gnus-read-method
24047 Prompts the user for a select method.
24052 @node Back End Interface
24053 @subsection Back End Interface
24055 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24056 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24057 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24058 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24059 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24060 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24062 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24063 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24064 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24065 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24066 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24067 been opened, the function should fail.
24069 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24070 name. Take this example:
24074 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24075 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24078 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24079 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24081 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24082 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24083 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24085 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24086 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24087 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24089 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24090 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24091 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24092 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24093 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24094 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24097 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24098 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24099 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24100 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24103 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24104 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24105 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24106 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24107 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24108 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24109 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24110 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24111 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24112 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24114 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24115 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24116 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24117 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24118 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24119 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24120 of numbers as long as possible.
24122 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24123 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24124 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24126 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24129 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24132 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24133 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24134 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24135 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24136 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24137 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24141 @node Required Back End Functions
24142 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24146 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24148 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24149 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24150 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24151 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24153 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24154 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24155 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24156 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24158 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24159 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24160 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24161 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24162 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24163 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24164 number, do maximum fetches.
24166 Here's an example HEAD:
24169 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24170 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24171 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24172 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24173 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24174 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24175 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24177 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24178 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24179 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24183 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24184 these in the data buffer.
24186 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24190 head = error / valid-head
24191 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24192 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24193 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24194 header = <text> eol
24197 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24198 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24202 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24203 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24204 field = <text except TAB>
24207 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24211 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24213 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24214 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24216 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24217 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24218 server. In fact, it should do so.
24220 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24221 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24224 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24226 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24227 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24230 There should be no data returned.
24233 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24235 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24236 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24237 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24238 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24240 There should be no data returned.
24243 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24245 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24246 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24247 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24248 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24250 There should be no data returned.
24253 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24255 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24257 There should be no data returned.
24260 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24262 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24263 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24264 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24265 it would be nice if that were possible.
24267 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24268 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24269 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24270 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24271 into its article buffer.
24273 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24274 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24275 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24276 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24277 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24278 on successful article retrieval.
24281 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24283 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24284 making @var{group} the current group.
24286 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24289 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24292 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24295 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24296 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24297 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24298 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24299 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24300 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24301 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24302 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24303 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24307 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24308 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24309 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24313 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24315 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24316 a no-op on most back ends.
24318 There should be no data returned.
24321 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24323 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24326 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24329 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24330 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24333 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24334 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24335 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24336 and the highest as 0.
24339 active-file = *active-line
24340 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24342 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24345 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24346 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24347 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24350 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24352 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24353 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24354 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24355 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24356 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24357 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24359 There should be no result data from this function.
24364 @node Optional Back End Functions
24365 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24369 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24371 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24372 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24373 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24375 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24376 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24377 former is in the same format as the data from
24378 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24379 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24382 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24386 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24388 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24389 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24390 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24391 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24392 should return a non-nil value.
24394 There should be no result data from this function.
24397 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24399 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24400 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24401 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24402 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24403 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24404 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24405 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24406 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24408 There should be no result data from this function.
24411 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24413 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24414 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24415 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24416 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24417 propagate the mark information to the server.
24419 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24422 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24425 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24426 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24427 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24428 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24429 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24430 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24431 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24432 possible, not limit itself to these.
24434 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24435 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24436 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24437 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24439 An example action list:
24442 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24443 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24444 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24447 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24448 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24450 There should be no result data from this function.
24452 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24454 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24455 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24456 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24457 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24458 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24460 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24461 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24462 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24465 There should be no result data from this function.
24468 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24470 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24471 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24472 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24473 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24474 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24475 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24476 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24478 There should be no result data from this function.
24481 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24483 The result data from this function should be a description of
24487 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24489 description = <text>
24492 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24494 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24495 groups available on the server.
24498 description-buffer = *description-line
24502 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24504 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24505 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24506 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24507 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24508 in the active buffer format.
24510 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24511 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24512 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24513 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24514 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24515 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24516 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24519 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24521 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24523 There should be no return data.
24526 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24528 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24529 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24530 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24531 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24532 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24535 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24538 There should be no result data returned.
24541 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24544 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24545 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24547 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24548 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24549 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24550 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24551 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24552 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24554 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24555 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24558 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24559 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24561 There should be no data returned.
24564 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24566 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24567 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24568 this function in short order.
24570 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24571 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24573 There should be no data returned.
24576 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
24578 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
24579 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
24581 There should be no data returned.
24584 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
24586 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
24587 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
24588 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
24590 There should be no data returned.
24593 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
24595 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
24596 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
24598 There should be no data returned.
24603 @node Error Messaging
24604 @subsubsection Error Messaging
24606 @findex nnheader-report
24607 @findex nnheader-get-report
24608 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
24609 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
24610 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
24611 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
24612 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
24613 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
24616 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
24618 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
24621 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
24622 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
24623 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
24624 takes one argument---the server symbol.
24626 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
24627 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
24628 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
24631 @node Writing New Back Ends
24632 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
24634 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
24635 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
24636 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
24637 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
24638 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
24641 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
24642 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
24643 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
24645 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
24646 package called @code{nnoo}.
24648 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
24649 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
24655 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
24656 parameters. For instance:
24659 (nnoo-declare nndir
24663 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
24664 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
24667 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
24668 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
24669 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
24671 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
24672 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
24673 a function in those back ends.
24676 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24677 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24678 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24681 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
24682 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
24683 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
24685 @item nnoo-define-basics
24686 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
24690 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24694 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
24695 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
24696 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
24698 @item nnoo-map-functions
24699 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
24700 functions from the parent back ends.
24703 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24704 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24705 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24708 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24709 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24710 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24711 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24714 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24715 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24716 haven't already been defined.
24722 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24726 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24727 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24728 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24733 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24736 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24737 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24741 (require 'nnheader)
24745 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24747 (nnoo-declare nndir
24750 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24751 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24752 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24754 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24755 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24758 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24760 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24761 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24762 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24764 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24765 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24767 ;;; Interface functions.
24769 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24771 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24772 (setq nndir-directory
24773 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24775 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24776 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24777 (push `(nndir-current-group
24778 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24779 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24781 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24782 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24784 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24786 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24787 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24788 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24789 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24790 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24794 nnmh-status-message
24796 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24802 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24803 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24805 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24806 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24807 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24808 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24809 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24811 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24812 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24817 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24820 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24822 The abilities can be:
24826 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24828 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24830 This back end supports both mail and news.
24832 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24835 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24836 articles and groups.
24838 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24839 true for almost all back ends.
24840 @item prompt-address
24841 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24842 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24843 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24847 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24848 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24850 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24851 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24852 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24853 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24856 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24857 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24858 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24861 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24862 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24865 This function takes four parameters.
24869 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24872 @item exit-function
24873 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24875 @item temp-directory
24876 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24879 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24880 performed for one group only.
24883 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24884 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24885 find the article number assigned to this article.
24887 The function also uses the following variables:
24888 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24889 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24890 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24891 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24895 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24896 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24900 @node Score File Syntax
24901 @subsection Score File Syntax
24903 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24904 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24905 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24907 Here's a typical score file:
24911 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24918 BNF definition of a score file:
24921 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24922 element = rule / atom
24923 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24924 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24925 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24926 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24928 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24929 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24930 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24931 date-header = "date"
24932 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24933 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24934 score = "nil" / <integer>
24935 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24936 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24937 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24938 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24939 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24940 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24941 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24942 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24943 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24944 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24945 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24946 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24947 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24948 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24949 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24950 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24951 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24952 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24953 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24954 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24955 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24956 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24957 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24958 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24959 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24960 eval = "eval" space <form>
24961 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24964 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24967 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24968 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24969 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24970 one looong line, then that's ok.
24972 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24973 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24977 @subsection Headers
24979 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24980 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24981 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24982 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24984 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24985 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24986 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24987 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24988 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24989 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24990 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24992 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24993 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24994 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24995 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24996 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24998 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24999 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25005 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25006 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25008 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25009 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25010 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25011 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25013 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25017 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25020 is transformed into
25023 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25026 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25027 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25030 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25033 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25034 is slightly tricky:
25037 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25043 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25046 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25052 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25059 and is equal to the previous range.
25061 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25062 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25063 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25067 range = simple-range / normal-range
25068 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25069 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25070 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25071 number *[ " " contents ]
25074 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25075 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25076 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25077 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25078 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25083 @subsection Group Info
25085 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25086 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25087 describes the group.
25089 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25090 second is a more complex one:
25093 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25095 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25096 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25098 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25101 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25102 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25103 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25104 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25105 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25106 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25107 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25108 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25109 this section is about.
25111 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25112 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25113 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25115 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25118 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25119 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25120 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25121 group = quote <string> quote
25122 ralevel = rank / level
25123 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25124 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25125 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25127 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25128 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25129 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25130 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25133 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25134 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25137 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25138 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25141 @item gnus-info-group
25142 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25143 @findex gnus-info-group
25144 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25145 Get/set the group name.
25147 @item gnus-info-rank
25148 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25149 @findex gnus-info-rank
25150 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25151 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25153 @item gnus-info-level
25154 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25155 @findex gnus-info-level
25156 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25157 Get/set the group level.
25159 @item gnus-info-score
25160 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25161 @findex gnus-info-score
25162 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25163 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25165 @item gnus-info-read
25166 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25167 @findex gnus-info-read
25168 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25169 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25171 @item gnus-info-marks
25172 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25173 @findex gnus-info-marks
25174 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25175 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25177 @item gnus-info-method
25178 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25179 @findex gnus-info-method
25180 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25181 Get/set the group select method.
25183 @item gnus-info-params
25184 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25185 @findex gnus-info-params
25186 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25187 Get/set the group parameters.
25190 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25191 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25193 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25194 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25195 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25196 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25199 @node Extended Interactive
25200 @subsection Extended Interactive
25201 @cindex interactive
25202 @findex gnus-interactive
25204 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25205 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25206 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25209 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25210 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25215 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25216 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25217 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25218 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25219 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25220 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25221 @code{interactive}.
25223 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25228 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25229 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25233 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25234 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25235 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25238 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25242 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25246 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25252 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25253 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25257 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25258 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25259 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25261 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25262 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25263 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25264 Gnus, that's very useful.
25266 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25267 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25268 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25269 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25270 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25271 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25272 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25273 following function:
25276 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25280 (,function ,@@args))
25284 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25285 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25286 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25289 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25290 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25291 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25293 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25294 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25295 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25298 @node Various File Formats
25299 @subsection Various File Formats
25302 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25303 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25307 @node Active File Format
25308 @subsubsection Active File Format
25310 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25311 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25314 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25317 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25318 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25319 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25320 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25321 no.general 1000 900 y
25324 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25327 active = *group-line
25328 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25329 group = <non-white-space string>
25331 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25332 low-number = <positive integer>
25333 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25336 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25337 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25340 @node Newsgroups File Format
25341 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25343 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25344 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25345 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25348 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25349 Here's the definition:
25353 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25354 group = <non-white-space string>
25356 description = <string>
25361 @node Emacs for Heathens
25362 @section Emacs for Heathens
25364 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25365 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25366 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25367 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25368 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25369 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25370 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25374 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25375 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25380 @subsection Keystrokes
25384 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25387 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25390 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25391 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25392 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25393 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25394 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25395 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25397 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25398 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25399 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25400 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25401 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25402 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25403 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25405 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25406 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25407 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25408 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25409 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25410 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25411 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25413 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25414 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25415 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25416 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25417 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25423 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25425 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25426 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25427 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25428 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25430 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25431 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25432 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25433 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25434 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25435 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25436 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25439 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25440 write the following:
25443 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25446 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25447 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25448 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25451 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
25452 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25453 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25454 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25455 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25457 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25458 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25459 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25463 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25467 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25470 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25471 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25474 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25477 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25478 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25481 @include gnus-faq.texi
25501 @c Local Variables:
25503 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25505 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25506 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25507 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25508 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25509 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref