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 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
713 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
714 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
718 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
719 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
720 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
721 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
722 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
726 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
730 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
731 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
732 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
736 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
737 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
741 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
742 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
743 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
744 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
745 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
746 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
747 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
748 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
749 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
750 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
751 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
755 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
756 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
757 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
761 * Group Agent Commands::
762 * Summary Agent Commands::
763 * Server Agent Commands::
767 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
768 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
769 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
770 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
771 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
772 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
773 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
774 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
775 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
776 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
777 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
778 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
779 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
780 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
781 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
782 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
783 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
787 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
788 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
789 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
790 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
794 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
795 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
796 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
800 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
801 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
802 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
803 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
804 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
805 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
806 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
807 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
808 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
809 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
810 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
811 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
812 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
813 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
814 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
815 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
816 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
817 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
818 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
822 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
823 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
824 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
825 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
826 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
827 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
828 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
829 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
833 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
834 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
835 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
836 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
837 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
841 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
842 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
843 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
844 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
845 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
849 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
850 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
851 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
856 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
857 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
858 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
859 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
860 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
861 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
862 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
863 * Frequently Asked Questions::
867 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
868 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
869 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
870 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
871 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
872 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
873 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
874 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
875 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
879 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
880 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
881 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
882 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
883 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
887 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
888 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
889 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
890 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
894 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
895 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
896 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
897 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
898 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
899 * Group Info:: The group info format.
900 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
901 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
902 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
906 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
907 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
908 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
909 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
910 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
911 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
915 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
916 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
920 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
921 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
927 @chapter Starting Gnus
932 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
933 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
936 @findex gnus-other-frame
937 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
938 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
939 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
941 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
942 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
943 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
945 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
946 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
949 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
950 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
951 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
952 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
953 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
954 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
955 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
956 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
957 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
958 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
959 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
963 @node Finding the News
964 @section Finding the News
967 @vindex gnus-select-method
969 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
970 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
971 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
972 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
975 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
976 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
979 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
982 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
985 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
988 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
989 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
990 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
992 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
994 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
995 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
996 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
997 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
998 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
999 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1001 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1002 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1003 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1004 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1006 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1007 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1008 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1009 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1010 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1011 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1012 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1013 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1014 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1017 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1019 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1020 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1021 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1022 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1023 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1024 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1026 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1028 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1029 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1030 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1031 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1032 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1033 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1036 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1037 you would typically set this variable to
1040 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1044 @node The First Time
1045 @section The First Time
1046 @cindex first time usage
1048 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1049 be subscribed by default.
1051 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1052 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1053 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1054 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1057 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1058 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1059 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1061 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1062 help you with most common problems.
1064 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1065 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1069 @node The Server is Down
1070 @section The Server is Down
1071 @cindex server errors
1073 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1074 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1075 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1077 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1078 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1079 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1080 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1081 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1082 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1083 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1085 @findex gnus-no-server
1086 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1088 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1089 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1090 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1091 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1092 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1093 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1094 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1098 @section Slave Gnusae
1101 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1102 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1103 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1104 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1106 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1107 @code{.newsrc} file.
1109 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1110 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1111 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1112 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1113 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1114 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1115 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1117 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1118 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1119 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1120 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1121 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1122 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1123 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1124 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1126 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1127 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1129 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1130 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1131 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1132 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1133 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1135 @node Fetching a Group
1136 @section Fetching a Group
1137 @cindex fetching a group
1139 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1140 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1141 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1142 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1143 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1144 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1150 @cindex subscription
1152 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1153 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1154 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1155 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1156 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1157 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1158 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1159 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1160 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1163 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1164 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1165 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1169 @node Checking New Groups
1170 @subsection Checking New Groups
1172 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1173 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1174 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1175 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1176 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1177 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1178 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1179 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1180 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1181 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1183 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1184 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1185 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1186 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1187 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1188 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1189 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1190 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1191 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1192 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1193 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1195 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1196 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1197 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1198 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1199 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1200 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1203 @node Subscription Methods
1204 @subsection Subscription Methods
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1207 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1208 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1210 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1211 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1213 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1217 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1218 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1219 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1220 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1221 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1225 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1226 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1230 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1234 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1235 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1236 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1237 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1238 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1239 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1240 up. Or something like that.
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1244 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1245 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1246 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1250 Kill all new groups.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1254 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1255 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1256 topic parameter that looks like
1262 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1265 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1271 A closely related variable is
1272 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1273 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1274 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1275 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1278 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1279 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1280 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1281 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1284 @node Filtering New Groups
1285 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1287 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1288 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1289 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1292 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1295 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1296 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1297 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1298 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1299 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1300 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1301 subscribing these groups.
1302 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1303 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1305 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1306 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1307 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1308 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1309 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1310 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1311 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1312 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1314 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1315 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1316 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1317 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1318 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1319 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1320 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1321 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1322 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1323 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1326 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1327 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1330 @node Changing Servers
1331 @section Changing Servers
1332 @cindex changing servers
1334 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1335 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1336 very flaky and you want to use another.
1338 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1339 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1343 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1344 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1345 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1346 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1349 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1350 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1351 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1352 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1354 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1355 @findex gnus-change-server
1356 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1357 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1358 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1359 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1360 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1362 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1363 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1364 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1365 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1366 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1368 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1369 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1370 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1371 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1372 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1373 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1376 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1377 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1378 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1380 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1381 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1382 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1383 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1384 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1385 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1386 cache for all groups).
1390 @section Startup Files
1391 @cindex startup files
1396 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1397 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1399 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1400 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1402 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1403 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1404 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1405 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1407 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1408 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1409 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1410 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1411 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1412 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1414 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1415 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1416 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1417 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1418 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1419 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1420 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1421 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1422 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1423 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1425 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1426 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1427 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1428 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1429 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1430 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1431 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1432 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1433 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1434 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1435 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1436 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1438 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1439 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1440 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1441 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1443 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1444 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1445 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1446 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1447 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1448 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1449 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1450 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1451 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1452 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1455 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1456 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1458 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1459 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1462 @vindex gnus-init-file
1463 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1464 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1465 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1466 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1467 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1468 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1469 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1470 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1471 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1477 @cindex dribble file
1480 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1481 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1482 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1483 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1484 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1487 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1488 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1491 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1492 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1493 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1495 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1496 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1497 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1498 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1499 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1500 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1502 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1503 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1504 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1507 @node The Active File
1508 @section The Active File
1510 @cindex ignored groups
1512 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1513 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1514 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1516 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1517 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1518 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1519 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1520 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1521 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1522 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1525 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1526 @c if you set it to anything else.
1528 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1530 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1531 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1532 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1534 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1535 you actually subscribe to.
1537 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1538 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1539 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1540 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1542 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1543 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1544 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1545 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1546 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1547 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1549 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1550 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1551 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1554 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1555 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1556 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1557 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1558 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1559 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1561 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1562 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1564 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1565 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1567 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1568 secondary select methods.
1571 @node Startup Variables
1572 @section Startup Variables
1576 @item gnus-load-hook
1577 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1578 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1579 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1580 times you start Gnus.
1582 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1583 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1584 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1586 @item gnus-startup-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1588 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1590 @item gnus-started-hook
1591 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1592 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1595 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1597 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1598 generating the group buffer.
1600 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1601 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1602 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1603 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1604 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1605 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1606 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1607 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1609 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1610 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1611 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1612 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1613 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1614 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1616 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1617 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1618 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1620 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1621 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1622 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1624 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1625 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1626 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1627 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1633 @chapter Group Buffer
1634 @cindex group buffer
1636 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1638 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1639 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1640 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1641 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1642 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1643 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1645 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1646 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1647 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1648 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1649 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1650 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1651 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1652 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1653 @c human rights at 9...
1656 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1657 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1658 long as Gnus is active.
1662 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1663 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1664 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1665 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1666 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1667 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1668 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1669 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1675 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1676 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1677 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1678 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1679 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1680 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1681 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1682 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1683 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1684 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1685 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1686 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1687 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1688 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1689 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1690 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1691 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1695 @node Group Buffer Format
1696 @section Group Buffer Format
1699 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1700 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1701 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1705 @node Group Line Specification
1706 @subsection Group Line Specification
1707 @cindex group buffer format
1709 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1710 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1712 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1715 25: news.announce.newusers
1716 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1721 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1722 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1723 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1724 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1726 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1727 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1728 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1729 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1730 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1731 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1733 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1735 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1736 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1737 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1738 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1739 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1741 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1742 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1743 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1745 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1750 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1753 Whether the group is subscribed.
1756 Level of subscribedness.
1759 Number of unread articles.
1762 Number of dormant articles.
1765 Number of ticked articles.
1768 Number of read articles.
1771 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1772 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1774 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1775 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1776 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1777 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1778 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1779 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1780 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1781 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1784 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1787 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1796 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1797 comment element in the group parameters.
1800 Newsgroup description.
1803 @samp{m} if moderated.
1806 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1815 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1819 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1822 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1823 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1824 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1825 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1826 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1829 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1831 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1835 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1838 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1842 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1843 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1844 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1845 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1846 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1847 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1852 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1853 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1854 group, or a bogus native group.
1857 @node Group Modeline Specification
1858 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1859 @cindex group modeline
1861 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1862 The mode line can be changed by setting
1863 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1864 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1868 The native news server.
1870 The native select method.
1874 @node Group Highlighting
1875 @subsection Group Highlighting
1876 @cindex highlighting
1877 @cindex group highlighting
1879 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1880 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1881 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1882 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1883 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1885 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1889 (cond (window-system
1890 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1891 (defface my-group-face-1
1892 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1893 (defface my-group-face-2
1894 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1895 (defface my-group-face-3
1896 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-4
1898 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1899 (defface my-group-face-5
1900 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1902 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1903 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1904 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1905 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1906 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1907 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1910 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1912 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1919 The number of unread articles in the group.
1923 Whether the group is a mail group.
1925 The level of the group.
1927 The score of the group.
1929 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1931 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1932 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1934 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1935 topic being inserted.
1938 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1939 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1940 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1942 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1943 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1944 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1945 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1946 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1949 @node Group Maneuvering
1950 @section Group Maneuvering
1951 @cindex group movement
1953 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1954 expected, hopefully.
1960 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1961 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1962 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1968 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1969 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1970 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1974 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1975 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1980 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1984 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1985 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1986 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1990 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1991 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1992 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1995 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2001 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2002 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2003 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2008 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2009 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2010 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2015 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2016 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2019 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2020 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2021 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2022 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2026 @node Selecting a Group
2027 @section Selecting a Group
2028 @cindex group selection
2033 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2034 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2035 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2036 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2037 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2038 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2039 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2040 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2041 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2042 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2044 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2045 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2046 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2048 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2049 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2054 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2055 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2056 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2057 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2058 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2062 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2064 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2065 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2066 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2067 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2068 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2069 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2070 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2071 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2074 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2075 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2076 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2077 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2078 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2081 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2083 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2084 doing any processing of its contents
2085 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2086 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2087 manner will have no permanent effects.
2091 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2092 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2093 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2094 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2095 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2096 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2097 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2098 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2101 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2102 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2103 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2104 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2105 Which article this is is controlled by the
2106 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2112 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2115 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2118 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2120 @item unseen-or-unread
2121 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2122 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2126 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2130 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2131 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2133 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2134 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2135 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2136 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2140 @node Subscription Commands
2141 @section Subscription Commands
2142 @cindex subscription
2150 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2151 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2152 Toggle subscription to the current group
2153 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2159 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2160 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2161 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2162 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2168 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2169 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2170 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2176 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2177 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2180 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2181 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2182 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2183 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2184 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2190 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2191 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2195 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2196 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2199 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2200 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2201 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2202 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2203 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2204 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2205 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2206 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2207 @file{.newsrc} file.
2211 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2221 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2222 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2224 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2225 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2226 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2231 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2232 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2233 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2238 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2239 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2241 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2242 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2243 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2244 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2245 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2246 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2253 @section Group Levels
2257 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2258 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2259 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2260 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2261 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2263 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2269 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2270 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2271 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2272 prompted for a level.
2275 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2276 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2277 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2278 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2279 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2280 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2281 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2282 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2283 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2284 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2285 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2286 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2287 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2288 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2289 reasons of efficiency.
2291 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2292 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2294 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2295 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2296 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2297 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2298 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2299 groups are hidden, in a way.
2301 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2302 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2303 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2304 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2305 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2306 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2308 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2309 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2310 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2311 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2312 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2313 list of killed groups.)
2315 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2316 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2317 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2319 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2320 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2321 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2322 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2323 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2324 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2325 relevant valid ranges.
2327 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2328 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2329 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2330 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2331 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2332 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2335 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2336 one with the best level.
2338 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2339 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2340 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2343 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2344 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2345 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2346 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2349 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2350 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2351 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2352 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2354 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2355 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2356 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2357 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2358 to 5. The default is 6.
2362 @section Group Score
2367 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2368 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2369 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2372 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2373 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2374 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2375 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2376 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2377 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2378 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2379 least significant part.))
2381 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2382 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2383 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2384 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2385 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2386 action after each summary exit, you can add
2387 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2388 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2389 slow things down somewhat.
2392 @node Marking Groups
2393 @section Marking Groups
2394 @cindex marking groups
2396 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2397 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2398 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2399 bidding on those groups.
2401 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2402 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2403 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2411 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2412 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2418 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2419 Remove the mark from the current group
2420 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2424 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2425 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2430 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2434 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2435 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2440 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2441 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2444 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2446 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2447 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2448 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2449 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2450 the command to be executed.
2453 @node Foreign Groups
2454 @section Foreign Groups
2455 @cindex foreign groups
2457 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2458 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2459 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2460 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2467 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2468 @cindex making groups
2469 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2470 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2471 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2475 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2476 @cindex renaming groups
2477 Rename the current group to something else
2478 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2479 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2485 @findex gnus-group-customize
2486 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2491 @cindex renaming groups
2492 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2493 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2498 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2499 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2504 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2505 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2511 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2512 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2518 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2522 @cindex (ding) archive
2523 @cindex archive group
2524 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2525 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2526 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2527 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2528 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2529 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2530 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2534 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2536 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2537 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2538 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2539 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2543 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2545 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2546 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2547 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2552 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2554 Make a group based on some file or other
2555 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2556 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2557 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2558 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2559 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2560 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2561 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2562 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2563 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2567 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2568 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2569 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2570 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2574 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2578 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2579 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2580 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2581 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2582 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2583 @xref{Web Searches}.
2585 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2586 to a particular group by using a match string like
2587 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2590 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2591 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2592 This function will delete the current group
2593 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2594 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2595 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2596 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2597 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2601 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2602 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2603 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2607 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2608 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2609 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2612 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2615 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2616 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2617 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2618 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2619 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2620 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2624 @node Group Parameters
2625 @section Group Parameters
2626 @cindex group parameters
2628 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2629 Here's an example group parameter list:
2632 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2636 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2637 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2638 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2639 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2641 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2642 is an alist of regexps and values.
2644 The following group parameters can be used:
2649 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2652 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2655 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2656 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2657 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2658 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2659 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2661 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2662 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2663 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2664 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2665 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2666 list address instead.
2668 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2672 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2675 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2678 It is totally ignored
2679 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2680 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2682 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2683 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2684 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2685 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2686 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2688 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2689 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2690 sending the message.
2692 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2693 @cindex Mail List Groups
2694 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2695 entering summary buffer.
2697 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2702 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2703 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2704 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2705 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2706 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2707 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2709 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2710 directly uses this group parameter.
2714 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2715 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2716 of whether it has any unread articles.
2718 @item broken-reply-to
2719 @cindex broken-reply-to
2720 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2721 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2722 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2723 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2724 broken behavior. So there!
2728 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2729 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2733 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2734 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2735 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2740 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2741 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2742 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2743 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2744 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2745 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2746 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2747 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2748 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2752 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2753 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2754 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2756 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2759 @cindex total-expire
2760 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2761 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2762 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2763 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2766 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2770 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2771 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2772 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2773 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2774 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2775 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2778 @cindex score file group parameter
2779 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2780 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2781 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2784 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2785 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2786 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2787 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2790 @cindex admin-address
2791 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2792 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2793 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2794 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2798 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2799 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2803 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2806 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2807 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2810 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2814 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2816 Here are some examples:
2820 Display only unread articles.
2823 Display everything except expirable articles.
2825 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2826 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2830 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2831 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2832 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2833 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2834 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2838 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2839 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2840 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2844 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2845 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2846 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2850 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2851 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2852 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2854 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2856 @item ignored-charsets
2857 @cindex ignored-charset
2858 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2859 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2860 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2862 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2865 @cindex posting-style
2866 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2867 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2868 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2869 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2870 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2872 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2873 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2874 like this in the group parameters:
2879 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2884 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2885 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2889 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2890 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2891 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2892 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2893 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2897 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2898 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2899 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2900 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2902 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2903 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2904 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2905 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2908 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2909 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2913 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2916 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2917 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2918 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2919 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2920 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2921 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2922 @code{eval}ed there.
2924 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2925 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2926 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2927 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2928 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2929 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2930 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2931 parameters for the group.
2934 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2935 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2936 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2937 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2938 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2942 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2943 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2944 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2945 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2946 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2948 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2949 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2953 (setq gnus-parameters
2955 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2956 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2957 (gnus-summary-line-format
2958 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2962 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2966 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2970 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2973 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2974 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2977 @node Listing Groups
2978 @section Listing Groups
2979 @cindex group listing
2981 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2989 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2990 List all groups that have unread articles
2991 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2992 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2993 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2994 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3001 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3002 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3003 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3004 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3005 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3006 unsubscribed groups).
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3011 List all unread groups on a specific level
3012 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3013 with no unread articles.
3017 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3018 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3019 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3020 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3025 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3026 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3031 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3032 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3036 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3037 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3042 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3043 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3044 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3045 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3046 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3047 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3048 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3052 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3053 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3054 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3059 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3060 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3065 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3070 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3075 List groups limited within the current selection
3076 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3081 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3086 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3090 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3091 @cindex visible group parameter
3092 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3093 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3094 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3095 get the same effect.
3097 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3098 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3099 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3100 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3101 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3104 @node Sorting Groups
3105 @section Sorting Groups
3106 @cindex sorting groups
3108 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3109 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3110 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3111 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3112 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3113 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3118 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3119 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3120 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3122 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3123 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3124 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3126 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3127 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3128 Sort by group level.
3130 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3132 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3134 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3136 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3137 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3141 Sort by number of unread articles.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3145 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3149 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3154 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3155 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3159 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3160 some sorting criteria:
3164 @kindex G S a (Group)
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3166 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3167 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3170 @kindex G S u (Group)
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3172 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3173 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3176 @kindex G S l (Group)
3177 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3178 Sort the group buffer by group level
3179 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3182 @kindex G S v (Group)
3183 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3184 Sort the group buffer by group score
3185 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3188 @kindex G S r (Group)
3189 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3190 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3191 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3194 @kindex G S m (Group)
3195 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3196 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3197 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3201 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3202 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3204 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3205 commands will sort in reverse order.
3207 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3211 @kindex G P a (Group)
3212 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3213 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3214 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3217 @kindex G P u (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3219 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3223 @kindex G P l (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3225 Sort the groups by group level
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3229 @kindex G P v (Group)
3230 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3231 Sort the groups by group score
3232 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3235 @kindex G P r (Group)
3236 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3237 Sort the groups by group rank
3238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3241 @kindex G P m (Group)
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3243 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3247 @kindex G P s (Group)
3248 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3249 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3253 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3257 @node Group Maintenance
3258 @section Group Maintenance
3259 @cindex bogus groups
3264 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3265 Find bogus groups and delete them
3266 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3270 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3271 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3272 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3273 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3274 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3278 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3280 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3281 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3282 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3283 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3286 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3288 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3289 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3294 @node Browse Foreign Server
3295 @section Browse Foreign Server
3296 @cindex foreign servers
3297 @cindex browsing servers
3302 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3303 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3304 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3305 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3308 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3309 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3310 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3311 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3313 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3318 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3319 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3323 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3324 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3327 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3328 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3329 Enter the current group and display the first article
3330 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3333 @kindex RET (Browse)
3334 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3335 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3339 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3340 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3341 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3347 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3348 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3353 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3358 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3359 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3364 @section Exiting Gnus
3365 @cindex exiting Gnus
3367 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3372 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3373 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3374 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3375 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3379 @findex gnus-group-exit
3380 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3381 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3385 @findex gnus-group-quit
3386 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3387 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3390 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3391 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3392 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3393 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3394 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3399 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3400 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3401 trying to customize meta-variables.
3406 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3407 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3408 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3414 @section Group Topics
3417 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3418 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3419 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3420 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3421 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3422 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3426 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3427 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3438 2: alt.religion.emacs
3441 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3443 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3444 13: comp.sources.unix
3447 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3449 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3450 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3451 is a toggling command.)
3453 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3454 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3455 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3456 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3459 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3460 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3461 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3464 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3468 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3469 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3470 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3471 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3472 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3476 @node Topic Commands
3477 @subsection Topic Commands
3478 @cindex topic commands
3480 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3481 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3482 definitions slightly.
3484 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3485 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3486 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3487 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3488 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3489 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3491 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3498 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3499 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3500 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3504 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3506 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3507 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3508 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3509 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3512 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3513 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3514 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3515 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3519 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3520 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3521 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3522 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3528 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3529 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3530 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3534 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3535 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3536 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3539 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3540 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3541 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3542 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3543 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3545 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3546 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3550 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3551 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3558 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3560 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3561 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3562 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3563 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3564 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3565 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3569 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3575 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3576 Move the current group to some other topic
3577 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3578 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3582 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3583 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3588 Copy the current group to some other topic
3589 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3590 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3594 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3595 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3596 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3600 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3601 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3602 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3606 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3607 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3608 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3609 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3610 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3611 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3612 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3615 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3616 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3620 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3621 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3622 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3627 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3628 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3632 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3633 Toggle hiding empty topics
3634 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3638 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3639 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3640 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3643 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3644 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3645 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3646 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3649 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3650 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3651 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3652 expiry process (if any)
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3657 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3658 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3661 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3662 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3663 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3668 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3669 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3672 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3673 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3674 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3677 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3683 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3684 @cindex group parameters
3685 @cindex topic parameters
3687 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3688 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3693 @node Topic Variables
3694 @subsection Topic Variables
3695 @cindex topic variables
3697 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3698 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3700 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3701 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3702 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3715 Number of groups in the topic.
3717 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3719 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3722 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3723 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3724 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3728 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3730 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3731 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3732 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3736 @subsection Topic Sorting
3737 @cindex topic sorting
3739 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3745 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3746 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3747 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3748 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3751 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3752 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3753 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3754 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3757 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3758 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3759 Sort the current topic by group level
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3763 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3764 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3765 Sort the current topic by group score
3766 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3769 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3770 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3771 Sort the current topic by group rank
3772 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3775 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3776 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3777 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3778 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3781 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3782 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3783 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3788 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3789 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3790 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3791 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3795 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3796 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3800 @node Topic Topology
3801 @subsection Topic Topology
3802 @cindex topic topology
3805 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3811 2: alt.religion.emacs
3814 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3816 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3817 13: comp.sources.unix
3820 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3821 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3822 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3827 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3828 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3832 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3833 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3834 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3835 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3836 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3837 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3839 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3840 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3841 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3844 @node Topic Parameters
3845 @subsection Topic Parameters
3846 @cindex topic parameters
3848 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3849 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3850 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3852 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3857 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3858 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3859 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3862 @item subscribe-level
3863 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3864 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3865 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3869 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3870 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3871 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3872 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3878 2: alt.religion.emacs
3882 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3884 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3885 13: comp.sources.unix
3889 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3890 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3891 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3892 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3893 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3894 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3896 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3897 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3898 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3899 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3900 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3902 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3903 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3904 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3905 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3906 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3907 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3908 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3909 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3912 @node Misc Group Stuff
3913 @section Misc Group Stuff
3916 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3917 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3918 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3919 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3920 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3927 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3928 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3929 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3933 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3934 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3935 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3936 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3937 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3938 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3939 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3943 @findex gnus-group-mail
3944 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3945 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3946 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3947 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3951 @findex gnus-group-news
3952 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3953 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3954 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3957 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3958 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3959 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3960 for this to work though.
3964 Variables for the group buffer:
3968 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3969 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3970 is called after the group buffer has been
3973 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer is
3976 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3979 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3980 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3981 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3982 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3984 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3985 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3986 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3987 whether they are empty or not.
3989 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3990 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3991 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3992 non-ASCII group names.
3996 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3997 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4000 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4001 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4002 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4003 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4004 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4005 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4009 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4010 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4015 @node Scanning New Messages
4016 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4017 @cindex new messages
4018 @cindex scanning new news
4024 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4025 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4026 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4027 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4028 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4029 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4034 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4035 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4036 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4037 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4038 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4039 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4040 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4042 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4043 @cindex activating groups
4045 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4046 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4051 @findex gnus-group-restart
4052 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4053 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4054 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4058 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4059 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4061 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4062 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4066 @node Group Information
4067 @subsection Group Information
4068 @cindex group information
4069 @cindex information on groups
4076 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4077 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4080 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4081 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4082 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4083 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4084 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4085 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4086 for fetching the file.
4088 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4089 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4093 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4094 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4096 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4097 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4100 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4101 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4102 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4106 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4107 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4108 @cindex control message
4109 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4110 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4111 group if given a prefix argument.
4113 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4114 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4115 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4118 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4119 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4120 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4124 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4126 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4127 @cindex describing groups
4128 @cindex group description
4129 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4130 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4131 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4135 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4136 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4137 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4144 @findex gnus-version
4145 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4149 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4150 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4153 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4156 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4157 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4161 @node Group Timestamp
4162 @subsection Group Timestamp
4164 @cindex group timestamps
4166 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4167 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4168 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4171 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4174 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4176 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4177 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4180 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4181 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4184 This will result in lines looking like:
4187 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4188 0: custom 19961002T012713
4191 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4192 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4196 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4197 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4200 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4201 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4205 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4206 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4207 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4208 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4210 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4216 @subsection File Commands
4217 @cindex file commands
4223 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4224 @vindex gnus-init-file
4225 @cindex reading init file
4226 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4227 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4231 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4232 @cindex saving .newsrc
4233 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4234 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4235 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4238 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4239 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4240 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4245 @node Sieve Commands
4246 @subsection Sieve Commands
4247 @cindex group sieve commands
4249 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4250 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4251 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4252 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4253 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4255 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4256 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4258 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4259 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4260 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4261 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4262 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4263 regenerate the Sieve script.
4265 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4266 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4267 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4268 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4269 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4270 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4271 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4272 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4273 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4274 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4277 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4278 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4283 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4289 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4290 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4291 @cindex generating sieve script
4292 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4293 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4297 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4298 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4299 @cindex updating sieve script
4300 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4301 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4302 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4307 @node Summary Buffer
4308 @chapter Summary Buffer
4309 @cindex summary buffer
4311 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4312 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4314 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4315 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4317 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4320 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4321 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4322 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4323 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4324 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4325 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4326 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4327 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4328 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4329 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4330 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4331 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4332 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4333 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4334 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4335 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4336 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4337 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4338 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4339 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4340 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4341 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4342 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4343 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4344 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4345 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4346 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4347 or reselecting the current group.
4348 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4349 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4350 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4351 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4355 @node Summary Buffer Format
4356 @section Summary Buffer Format
4357 @cindex summary buffer format
4361 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4362 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4363 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4369 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4370 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4371 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4372 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4375 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4376 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4377 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4378 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4379 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4380 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4381 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4382 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4383 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4384 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4385 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4388 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4389 'mail-extract-address-components)
4392 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4393 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4394 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4395 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4398 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4399 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4401 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4402 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4403 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4404 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4405 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4407 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4408 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4409 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4410 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4411 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4412 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4414 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4416 The following format specification characters and extended format
4417 specification(s) are understood:
4423 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4424 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4426 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4427 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4428 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4430 Full @code{From} header.
4432 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4434 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4437 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4438 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4439 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4440 may be more thorough.
4442 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4445 Number of lines in the article.
4447 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4448 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4450 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4451 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4453 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4455 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4458 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4459 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4461 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4462 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4464 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4465 for adopted articles.
4467 One space for each thread level.
4469 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4471 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4474 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4475 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4476 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4479 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4481 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4482 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4483 default level. If the difference between
4484 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4485 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4493 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4495 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4501 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4502 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4504 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4505 article has any children.
4511 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4512 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4514 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4515 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4516 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4517 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4518 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4519 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4522 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4523 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4524 There can only be one such area.
4526 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4527 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4528 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4529 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4530 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4531 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4533 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4534 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4536 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4539 @node To From Newsgroups
4540 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4544 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4545 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4546 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4547 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4548 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4552 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4553 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4554 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4558 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4559 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4562 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4563 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4566 @findex gnus-extra-header
4567 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4568 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4569 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4572 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4576 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4577 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4578 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4579 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4580 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4581 headers are used instead.
4585 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4586 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4587 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4588 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4589 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4590 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4592 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4593 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4594 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4595 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4597 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4601 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4603 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4604 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4605 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4606 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4610 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4613 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4614 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4617 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4618 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4619 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4625 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4626 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4629 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4630 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4632 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4633 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4634 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4635 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4637 Here are the elements you can play with:
4643 Unprefixed group name.
4645 Current article number.
4647 Current article score.
4651 Number of unread articles in this group.
4653 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4656 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4657 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4658 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4659 and no unselected ones.
4661 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4662 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4664 Subject of the current article.
4666 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4668 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4670 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4672 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4674 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4676 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4680 @node Summary Highlighting
4681 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4685 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4686 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4687 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4688 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4689 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4691 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4692 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4693 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4694 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4696 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4698 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4699 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4701 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4702 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4703 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4704 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4705 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4706 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4709 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4710 ((> score default) . bold))
4712 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4713 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4717 @node Summary Maneuvering
4718 @section Summary Maneuvering
4719 @cindex summary movement
4721 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4722 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4724 None of these commands select articles.
4729 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4730 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4731 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4732 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4733 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4737 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4738 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4739 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4740 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4741 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4744 @kindex G g (Summary)
4745 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4746 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4747 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4750 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4751 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4752 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4753 to the group buffer.
4755 Variables related to summary movement:
4759 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4760 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4761 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4762 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4763 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4764 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4765 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4766 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4767 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4768 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4769 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4770 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4771 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4772 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4774 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4775 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4776 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4777 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4778 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4779 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4780 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4782 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4784 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4785 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4786 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4787 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4788 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4790 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4791 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4792 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4793 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4794 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4795 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4796 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4797 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4800 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4801 the given number of lines from the top.
4806 @node Choosing Articles
4807 @section Choosing Articles
4808 @cindex selecting articles
4811 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4812 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4816 @node Choosing Commands
4817 @subsection Choosing Commands
4819 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4820 and they all select and display an article.
4822 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4823 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4827 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4828 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4829 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4830 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4835 @kindex G n (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4837 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4838 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4843 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4844 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4845 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4850 @kindex G N (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4852 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4857 @kindex G P (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4859 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4862 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4864 Go to the next article with the same subject
4865 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4868 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4870 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4871 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4875 @kindex G f (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4878 Go to the first unread article
4879 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4883 @kindex G b (Summary)
4885 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4886 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4887 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4888 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4893 @kindex G l (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4895 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4898 @kindex G o (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4901 @cindex article history
4902 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4903 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4904 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4905 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4906 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4907 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4912 @kindex G j (Summary)
4913 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4914 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4915 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4920 @node Choosing Variables
4921 @subsection Choosing Variables
4923 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4926 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4927 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4928 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4929 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4930 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4931 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4933 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4934 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4935 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4936 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4938 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4939 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4940 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4941 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4942 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4943 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4944 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4945 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4946 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4947 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4948 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4949 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4950 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4951 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4956 @node Paging the Article
4957 @section Scrolling the Article
4958 @cindex article scrolling
4963 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4965 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4966 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4967 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4970 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4972 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4975 @kindex RET (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4977 Scroll the current article one line forward
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4981 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4983 Scroll the current article one line backward
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4988 @kindex A g (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4991 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4992 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4993 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4994 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4995 the way it came from the server.
4997 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4998 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4999 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5002 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5007 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5012 @kindex A < (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5014 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5020 @kindex A > (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5022 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5026 @kindex A s (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5029 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5030 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5034 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5035 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5040 @node Reply Followup and Post
5041 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5044 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5045 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5046 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5047 * Canceling and Superseding::
5051 @node Summary Mail Commands
5052 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5054 @cindex composing mail
5056 Commands for composing a mail message:
5062 @kindex S r (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5066 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5067 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5068 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5073 @kindex S R (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5075 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5076 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5077 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5078 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5081 @kindex S w (Summary)
5082 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5083 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5084 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5085 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5086 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5089 @kindex S W (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5091 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5092 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5093 the process/prefix convention.
5096 @kindex S v (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5098 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5099 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5100 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5101 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5102 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5105 @kindex S V (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5107 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5108 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5109 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5112 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5114 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5115 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5118 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5120 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5121 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5122 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5126 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5127 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5129 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5130 Forward the current article to some other person
5131 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5132 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5133 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5134 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5135 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5136 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5137 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5138 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5139 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5145 @kindex S m (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5147 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5148 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5149 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5150 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5155 @kindex S i (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5157 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5158 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5159 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5161 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5162 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5163 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5164 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5165 for this to work though.
5168 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5169 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5170 @cindex bouncing mail
5171 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5172 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5173 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5174 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5175 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5176 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5177 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5178 very well fail, though.
5181 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5183 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5184 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5185 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5186 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5187 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5188 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5189 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5190 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5192 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5193 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5194 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5195 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5196 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5198 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5199 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5202 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5204 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5205 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5206 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5209 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5211 @cindex crossposting
5212 @cindex excessive crossposting
5213 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5214 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5216 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5217 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5218 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5219 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5220 command understands the process/prefix convention
5221 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5225 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5226 Manual}, for more information.
5229 @node Summary Post Commands
5230 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5232 @cindex composing news
5234 Commands for posting a news article:
5240 @kindex S p (Summary)
5241 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5242 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5243 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5244 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5245 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5250 @kindex S f (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5252 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5253 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5257 @kindex S F (Summary)
5259 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5260 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5261 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5262 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5263 process/prefix convention.
5266 @kindex S n (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5268 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5269 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5272 @kindex S N (Summary)
5273 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5274 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5275 message through mail and include the original message
5276 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5277 the process/prefix convention.
5280 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5282 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5283 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5284 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5285 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5286 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5287 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5288 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5289 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5290 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5291 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5292 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5295 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5296 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5298 @cindex making digests
5299 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5300 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5301 process/prefix convention.
5304 @kindex S u (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5306 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5307 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5308 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5311 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5312 Manual}, for more information.
5315 @node Summary Message Commands
5316 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5320 @kindex S y (Summary)
5321 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5322 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5323 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5324 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5325 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5330 @node Canceling and Superseding
5331 @subsection Canceling Articles
5332 @cindex canceling articles
5333 @cindex superseding articles
5335 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5336 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5338 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5340 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5343 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5344 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5345 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5346 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5347 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5349 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5350 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5353 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5354 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5355 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5357 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5358 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5359 your original article.
5361 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5363 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5364 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5365 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5368 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5369 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5370 have posted almost the same article twice.
5372 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5373 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5374 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5375 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5376 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5377 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5378 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5379 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5380 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5381 canceled/superseded.
5383 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5385 @node Delayed Articles
5386 @section Delayed Articles
5387 @cindex delayed sending
5388 @cindex send delayed
5390 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5391 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5392 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5393 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5396 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5399 @findex gnus-delay-article
5400 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5401 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5402 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5403 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5407 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5408 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5409 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5410 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5413 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5414 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5415 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5418 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5419 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5420 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5421 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5422 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5423 that means a time tomorrow.
5426 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5427 couple of variables:
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5432 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5433 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5435 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5437 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5438 formats described above.
5440 @item gnus-delay-group
5441 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5442 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5443 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5444 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5446 @item gnus-delay-header
5447 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5448 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5449 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5450 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5453 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5454 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5455 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5456 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5457 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5459 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5460 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5461 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5462 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5463 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5464 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5467 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5468 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5469 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5470 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5471 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5472 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5473 argument is ignored.
5475 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5476 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5477 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5481 @node Marking Articles
5482 @section Marking Articles
5483 @cindex article marking
5484 @cindex article ticking
5487 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5489 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5490 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5491 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5493 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5496 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5497 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5498 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5502 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5506 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5507 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5508 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5512 @node Unread Articles
5513 @subsection Unread Articles
5515 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5520 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5521 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5523 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5524 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5525 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5526 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5527 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5528 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5529 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5532 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5533 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5535 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5536 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5537 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5538 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5542 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5543 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5545 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5550 @subsection Read Articles
5551 @cindex expirable mark
5553 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5558 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5559 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5560 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5563 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5564 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5567 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5568 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5569 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5572 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5573 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5576 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5577 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5580 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5581 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5584 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5585 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5588 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5589 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5592 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5593 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5596 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5597 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5601 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5602 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5603 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5607 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5608 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5610 One more special mark, though:
5614 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5615 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5617 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5618 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5619 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5620 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5626 @subsection Other Marks
5627 @cindex process mark
5630 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5636 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5637 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5638 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5639 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5640 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5643 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5644 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5645 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5646 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5649 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5650 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5651 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5654 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5655 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5656 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5659 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5660 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5661 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5662 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5665 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5666 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5667 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5668 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5669 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5670 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5673 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5674 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5675 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5676 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5679 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5680 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5681 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5682 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5683 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5684 which character to use.)
5687 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5688 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5689 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5690 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5691 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5692 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5696 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5697 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5698 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5699 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5700 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5703 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5704 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5705 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5706 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5707 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5708 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5712 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5713 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5714 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5716 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5717 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5718 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5722 @subsection Setting Marks
5723 @cindex setting marks
5725 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5730 @kindex M c (Summary)
5731 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5732 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5733 @cindex mark as unread
5734 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5735 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5741 @kindex M t (Summary)
5742 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5743 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5744 @xref{Article Caching}.
5749 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5751 Mark the current article as dormant
5752 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5756 @kindex M d (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5759 Mark the current article as read
5760 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5764 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5765 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5771 @kindex M k (Summary)
5772 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5773 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5774 and then select the next unread article
5775 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5779 @kindex M K (Summary)
5780 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5782 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5783 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5786 @kindex M C (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5788 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5789 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5792 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5794 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5795 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5798 @kindex M H (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5800 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5801 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5804 @kindex M h (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5806 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5807 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5810 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5812 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5813 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5816 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5818 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5819 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5823 @kindex M e (Summary)
5825 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5826 Mark the current article as expirable
5827 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5830 @kindex M b (Summary)
5831 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5832 Set a bookmark in the current article
5833 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5836 @kindex M B (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5838 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5839 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5842 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5844 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5845 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5848 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5849 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5850 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5851 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5854 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5855 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5856 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5857 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5858 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5861 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5862 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5863 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5864 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5865 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5866 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5867 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5868 The default is @code{t}.
5871 @node Generic Marking Commands
5872 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5874 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5875 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5876 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5877 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5878 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5881 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5882 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5885 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5886 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5887 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5888 to list in this manual.
5890 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5891 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5892 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5893 article, you could say something like:
5896 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5897 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5898 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5904 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5905 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5909 @node Setting Process Marks
5910 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5911 @cindex setting process marks
5918 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5920 Mark the current article with the process mark
5921 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5922 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5926 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5927 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5928 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5929 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5932 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5934 Remove the process mark from all articles
5935 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5938 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5939 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5940 Invert the list of process marked articles
5941 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5944 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5945 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5946 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5947 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5950 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5951 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5952 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5953 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5956 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5958 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5962 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5963 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5966 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5967 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5968 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5969 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5972 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5974 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5975 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5978 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5979 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5980 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5981 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5984 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5985 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5986 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5989 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5991 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5992 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5995 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5996 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5997 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6000 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6001 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6002 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6003 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6006 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6007 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6008 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6009 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6012 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6013 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6014 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6015 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6018 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6019 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6020 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6021 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6025 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6026 set process marks based on article body contents.
6033 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6034 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6035 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6038 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6039 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6040 additional articles.
6046 @kindex / / (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6048 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6053 @kindex / a (Summary)
6054 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6055 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6056 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6060 @kindex / x (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6062 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6063 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6064 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6069 @kindex / u (Summary)
6071 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6072 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6073 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6074 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6075 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6078 @kindex / m (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6080 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6081 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6084 @kindex / t (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6086 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6087 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6088 articles younger than that number of days.
6091 @kindex / n (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6093 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6095 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6098 @kindex / w (Summary)
6099 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6100 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6101 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6105 @kindex / . (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6107 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6108 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6111 @kindex / v (Summary)
6112 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6113 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6114 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6117 @kindex / p (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6119 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6120 group parameter predicate
6121 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6122 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6126 @kindex M S (Summary)
6127 @kindex / E (Summary)
6128 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6129 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6130 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6133 @kindex / D (Summary)
6134 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6135 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6136 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6139 @kindex / * (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6141 Include all cached articles in the limit
6142 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6145 @kindex / d (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6147 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6148 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6151 @kindex / M (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6153 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6156 @kindex / T (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6158 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6161 @kindex / c (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6163 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6164 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6167 @kindex / C (Summary)
6168 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6169 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6170 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6171 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6174 @kindex / N (Summary)
6175 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6176 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6177 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6180 @kindex / o (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6182 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6183 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6191 @cindex article threading
6193 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6194 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6195 hierarchical fashion.
6197 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6198 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6199 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6200 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6201 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6202 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6203 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6205 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6209 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6212 A tree-like article structure.
6215 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6218 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6219 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6220 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6221 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6222 called loose threads.
6224 @item thread gathering
6225 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6227 @item sparse threads
6228 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6229 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6235 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6236 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6240 @node Customizing Threading
6241 @subsection Customizing Threading
6242 @cindex customizing threading
6245 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6246 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6247 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6248 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6253 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6256 @cindex loose threads
6259 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6260 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6261 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6262 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6263 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6264 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6266 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6267 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6268 There are four possible values:
6272 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6273 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6274 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6275 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6276 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6281 @cindex adopting articles
6286 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6287 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6288 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6289 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6292 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6293 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6294 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6295 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6296 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6297 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6298 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6301 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6302 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6303 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6307 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6308 display them after one another.
6311 Don't gather loose threads.
6314 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6315 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6316 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6317 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6318 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6319 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6320 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6321 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6322 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6323 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6324 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6326 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6327 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6328 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6331 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6332 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6333 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6334 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6335 simplification is used.
6337 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6338 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6339 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6340 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6342 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6344 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6350 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6351 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6352 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6353 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6358 (mapconcat 'identity
6359 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6361 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6364 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6367 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6368 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6369 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6370 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6371 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6372 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6374 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6377 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6378 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6379 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6381 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6382 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6385 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6386 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6387 Remove excessive whitespace.
6389 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6390 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6391 Remove all whitespace.
6394 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6397 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6398 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6399 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6400 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6401 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6402 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6403 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6404 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6406 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6407 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6408 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6409 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6410 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6411 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6412 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6413 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6414 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6418 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6419 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6420 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6421 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6423 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6424 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6425 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6428 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6432 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6433 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6439 @node Filling In Threads
6440 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6443 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6444 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6445 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6446 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6447 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6448 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6449 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6450 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6451 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6452 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6453 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6454 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6457 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6458 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6459 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6461 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6462 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6463 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6464 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6465 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6466 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6467 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6468 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6469 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6470 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6471 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6472 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6473 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6474 @code{nil} by default.
6476 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6477 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6478 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6479 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6480 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6481 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6482 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6484 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6485 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6486 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6491 @node More Threading
6492 @subsubsection More Threading
6495 @item gnus-show-threads
6496 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6497 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6498 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6499 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6500 slower and more awkward.
6502 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6503 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6504 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6507 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6508 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6509 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6514 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6515 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6516 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6519 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6520 unread, but you get my drift.)
6523 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6524 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6525 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6526 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6527 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6528 threads are expunged.
6530 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6531 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6532 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6535 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6536 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6537 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6538 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6539 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6540 result in a new thread.
6542 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6543 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6544 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6547 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6548 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6549 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6550 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6551 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6552 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6553 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6554 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6555 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6556 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6557 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6562 @node Low-Level Threading
6563 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6567 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6568 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6569 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6571 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6572 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6573 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6574 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6575 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6576 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6577 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6578 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6579 meaningful. Here's one example:
6582 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6584 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6585 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6587 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6589 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6596 @node Thread Commands
6597 @subsection Thread Commands
6598 @cindex thread commands
6604 @kindex T k (Summary)
6605 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6607 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6608 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6609 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6614 @kindex T l (Summary)
6615 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6617 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6618 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6621 @kindex T i (Summary)
6622 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6623 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6624 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6627 @kindex T # (Summary)
6628 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6629 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6630 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6633 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6634 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6635 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6636 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6639 @kindex T T (Summary)
6640 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6641 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6644 @kindex T s (Summary)
6645 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6646 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6647 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6650 @kindex T h (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6652 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6655 @kindex T S (Summary)
6656 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6657 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6660 @kindex T H (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6662 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6665 @kindex T t (Summary)
6666 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6667 Re-thread the current article's thread
6668 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6669 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6672 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6674 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6675 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6679 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6680 understand the numeric prefix.
6685 @kindex T n (Summary)
6687 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6689 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6690 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6691 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6694 @kindex T p (Summary)
6696 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6698 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6699 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6700 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6703 @kindex T d (Summary)
6704 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6705 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6708 @kindex T u (Summary)
6709 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6710 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6713 @kindex T o (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6715 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6718 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6719 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6720 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6721 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6722 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6723 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6724 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6725 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6726 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6727 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6728 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6729 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6733 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6734 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6736 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6737 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6738 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6739 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6740 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6741 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6742 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6743 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6744 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6745 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6746 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6747 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6748 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6750 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6751 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6752 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6753 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6754 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6755 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6756 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6757 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6759 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6760 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6761 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6763 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6764 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6765 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6766 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6767 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6768 ascending article order.
6770 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6771 by number, you could do something like:
6774 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6775 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6776 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6777 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6780 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6781 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6782 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6783 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6784 which the articles arrived.
6786 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6790 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6792 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6793 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6796 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6797 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6798 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6799 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6802 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6803 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6804 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6805 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6806 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6807 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6808 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6809 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6810 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6811 variable. It is very similar to the
6812 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6813 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6814 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6815 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6816 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6817 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6818 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6820 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6824 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6825 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6826 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6831 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6832 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6833 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6834 @cindex article pre-fetch
6837 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6838 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6839 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6840 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6841 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6843 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6844 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6846 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6847 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6848 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6849 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6850 connection is blocked.
6852 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6853 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6854 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6855 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6857 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6858 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6859 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6860 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6863 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6866 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6867 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6868 happen automatically.
6870 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6871 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6872 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6873 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6874 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6875 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6876 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6878 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6879 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6880 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6881 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6882 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6883 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6884 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6885 data structure as the only parameter.
6887 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6890 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6891 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6892 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6893 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6896 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6899 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6900 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6901 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6903 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6904 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6905 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6906 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6910 Remove articles when they are read.
6913 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6916 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6918 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6919 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6920 @c from the next group.
6923 @node Article Caching
6924 @section Article Caching
6925 @cindex article caching
6928 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6929 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6930 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6931 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6932 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6934 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6936 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6937 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6938 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6939 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6940 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6941 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6942 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6943 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6945 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6946 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6947 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6948 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6949 as dormant, and don't worry.
6951 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6953 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6954 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6955 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6956 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6957 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6958 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6959 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6960 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6961 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6962 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6964 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6965 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6966 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6967 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6968 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6969 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6970 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6971 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6972 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6973 not then be downloaded by this command.
6975 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6976 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6977 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6978 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6979 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6980 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6982 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6983 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6984 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6985 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6986 variables, the group is not cached.
6988 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6989 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6990 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6991 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6992 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6993 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6994 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6995 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6996 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6999 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7000 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7001 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7002 where, isn't that cool?
7004 @node Persistent Articles
7005 @section Persistent Articles
7006 @cindex persistent articles
7008 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7009 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7010 useful in my opinion.
7012 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7013 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7014 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7015 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7016 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7017 the expiry going on at the news server.
7019 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7020 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7021 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7027 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7028 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7031 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7032 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7033 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7034 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7038 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7040 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7041 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7042 interested in persistent articles:
7045 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7049 @node Article Backlog
7050 @section Article Backlog
7052 @cindex article backlog
7054 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7055 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7056 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7057 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7058 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7059 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7060 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7061 increase memory usage some.
7063 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7064 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7065 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7066 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7067 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7068 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7069 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7071 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7074 @node Saving Articles
7075 @section Saving Articles
7076 @cindex saving articles
7078 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7079 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7080 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7081 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7082 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7084 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7085 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7086 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7088 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7089 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7090 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7092 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7093 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7094 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7095 deleted before saving.
7101 @kindex O o (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7104 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7105 Save the current article using the default article saver
7106 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7109 @kindex O m (Summary)
7110 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7111 Save the current article in mail format
7112 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7115 @kindex O r (Summary)
7116 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7117 Save the current article in rmail format
7118 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7121 @kindex O f (Summary)
7122 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7123 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7124 Save the current article in plain file format
7125 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7128 @kindex O F (Summary)
7129 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7130 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7131 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7134 @kindex O b (Summary)
7135 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7136 Save the current article body in plain file format
7137 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7140 @kindex O h (Summary)
7141 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7142 Save the current article in mh folder format
7143 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7146 @kindex O v (Summary)
7147 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7148 Save the current article in a VM folder
7149 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7153 @kindex O p (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7156 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7157 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7160 @kindex O P (Summary)
7161 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7162 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7163 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7164 external program Muttprint (see
7165 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7166 options to use is controlled by the variable
7167 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7171 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7172 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7173 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7174 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7175 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7176 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7177 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7178 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7179 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7180 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7181 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7182 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7186 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7187 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7188 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7189 functions below, or you can create your own.
7193 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7194 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7195 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7196 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7197 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7198 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7199 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7201 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7202 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7203 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7204 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7205 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7206 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7208 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7209 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7210 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7211 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7212 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7213 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7214 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7216 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7217 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7218 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7219 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7220 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7221 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7223 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7224 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7225 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7226 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7227 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7229 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7230 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7231 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7232 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7233 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7236 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7237 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7238 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7239 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7240 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7242 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7243 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7244 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7245 reader to use this setting.
7248 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7249 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7250 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7251 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7254 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7255 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7256 available functions that generate names:
7260 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7261 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7262 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7264 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7265 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7266 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7268 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7269 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7270 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7272 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7273 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7274 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7276 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7277 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7278 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7281 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7282 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7283 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7284 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7285 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7289 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7290 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7291 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7292 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7295 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7296 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7297 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7298 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7299 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7300 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7301 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7302 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7303 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7305 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7306 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7307 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7308 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7310 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7311 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7312 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7315 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7316 lots of mail groups called things like
7317 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7318 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7319 following will do just that:
7322 (defun my-save-name (group)
7323 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7324 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7326 (setq gnus-split-methods
7327 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7332 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7333 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7334 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7335 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7336 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7337 all the files in the top level directory
7338 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7339 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7340 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7341 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7343 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7344 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7345 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7346 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7347 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7350 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7354 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7355 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7356 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7359 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7360 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7361 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7362 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7365 @node Decoding Articles
7366 @section Decoding Articles
7367 @cindex decoding articles
7369 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7370 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7373 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7374 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7375 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7376 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7377 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7378 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7382 @cindex article series
7383 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7384 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7385 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7386 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7387 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7389 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7390 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7391 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7393 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7394 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7395 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7397 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7398 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7399 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7402 @node Uuencoded Articles
7403 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7405 @cindex uuencoded articles
7410 @kindex X u (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7412 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7413 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7416 @kindex X U (Summary)
7417 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7418 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7419 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7422 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7424 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7427 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7428 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7429 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7430 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7434 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7435 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7436 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7437 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7438 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7440 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7441 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7442 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7443 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7446 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7447 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7448 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7449 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7450 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7451 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7455 @node Shell Archives
7456 @subsection Shell Archives
7458 @cindex shell archives
7459 @cindex shared articles
7461 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7462 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7463 some commands to deal with these:
7468 @kindex X s (Summary)
7469 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7470 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7473 @kindex X S (Summary)
7474 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7475 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7478 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7479 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7480 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7483 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7484 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7485 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7486 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7490 @node PostScript Files
7491 @subsection PostScript Files
7497 @kindex X p (Summary)
7498 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7499 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7502 @kindex X P (Summary)
7503 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7504 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7505 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7508 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7509 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7510 View the current PostScript series
7511 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7514 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7515 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7516 View and save the current PostScript series
7517 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7522 @subsection Other Files
7526 @kindex X o (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7528 Save the current series
7529 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7532 @kindex X b (Summary)
7533 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7534 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7535 doesn't really work yet.
7539 @node Decoding Variables
7540 @subsection Decoding Variables
7542 Adjective, not verb.
7545 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7546 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7547 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7551 @node Rule Variables
7552 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7553 @cindex rule variables
7555 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7556 variables are of the form
7559 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7566 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7567 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7569 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7570 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7573 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7574 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7577 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7578 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7579 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7580 user and default view rules.
7582 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7583 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7584 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7589 @node Other Decode Variables
7590 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7593 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7595 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7596 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7597 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7598 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7599 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7603 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7604 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7607 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7608 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7609 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7612 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7613 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7614 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7615 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7616 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7619 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7620 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7621 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7623 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7624 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7625 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7626 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7627 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7630 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7631 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7632 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7634 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7635 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7636 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7637 looking for files to display.
7639 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7640 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7641 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7644 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7645 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7646 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7649 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7650 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7651 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7654 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7655 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7656 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7659 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7660 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7661 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7662 decoded articles as unread.
7664 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7665 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7666 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7667 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7669 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7670 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7671 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7673 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7674 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7676 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7677 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7678 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7679 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7681 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7683 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7684 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7685 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7686 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7687 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7688 simply dropped them.
7693 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7694 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7698 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7699 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7700 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7701 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7702 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7703 for you when you post the article.
7705 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7706 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7707 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7708 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7710 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7711 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7712 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7713 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7714 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7715 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7716 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7718 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7719 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7720 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7721 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7722 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7723 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7724 Default is @code{t}.
7730 @subsection Viewing Files
7731 @cindex viewing files
7732 @cindex pseudo-articles
7734 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7735 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7736 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7737 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7738 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7739 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7740 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7742 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7743 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7744 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7745 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7747 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7748 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7749 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7751 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7752 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7753 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7754 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7755 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7757 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7758 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7759 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7760 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7761 a list of parameters to that command.
7763 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7764 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7765 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7767 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7768 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7769 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7772 @node Article Treatment
7773 @section Article Treatment
7775 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7776 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7777 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7778 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7779 these articles easier.
7782 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7783 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7784 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7785 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7786 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7787 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7788 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7789 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7790 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7791 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7795 @node Article Highlighting
7796 @subsection Article Highlighting
7797 @cindex highlighting
7799 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7800 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7805 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7806 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7807 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7808 Do much highlighting of the current article
7809 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7810 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7813 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7814 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7815 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7816 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7817 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7818 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7819 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7820 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7821 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7822 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7823 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7824 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7827 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7828 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7829 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7831 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7834 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7836 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7837 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7838 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7840 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7841 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7842 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7844 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7845 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7846 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7847 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7848 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7849 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7851 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7852 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7853 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7855 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7856 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7857 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7859 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7860 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7861 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7862 that it's a citation.
7864 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7865 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7866 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7868 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7869 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7870 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7872 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7873 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7874 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7875 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7881 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7882 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7883 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7884 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7885 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7886 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7887 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7888 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7893 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7896 @node Article Fontisizing
7897 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7899 @cindex article emphasis
7901 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7902 @kindex W e (Summary)
7903 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7904 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7905 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7906 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7908 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7909 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7910 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7911 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7912 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7913 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7914 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7915 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7919 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7920 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7921 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7930 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7931 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7932 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7933 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7934 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7935 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7936 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7937 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7938 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7939 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7940 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7941 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7942 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7944 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7945 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7946 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7950 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7953 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7955 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7956 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7957 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7958 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7960 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7963 @node Article Hiding
7964 @subsection Article Hiding
7965 @cindex article hiding
7967 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7968 too much cruft in most articles.
7973 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7974 @findex gnus-article-hide
7975 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7976 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7977 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7980 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7982 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7986 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7988 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7989 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7992 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7993 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7994 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7998 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7999 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8000 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8001 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8002 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8003 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8004 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8005 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8009 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8010 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8011 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8012 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8017 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8018 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8019 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8020 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8021 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8022 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8023 articles that have signatures in them do:
8025 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8027 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8029 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8030 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8032 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8035 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8040 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8041 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8042 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8043 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8046 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8047 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8048 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8049 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8052 @cindex stripping advertisements
8053 @cindex advertisements
8054 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8055 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8056 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8057 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8058 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8059 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8060 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8061 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8062 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8063 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8066 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8067 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8068 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8072 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8073 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8074 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8075 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8076 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8077 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8078 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8079 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8080 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8081 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8082 following element to remove them:
8085 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8091 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8092 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8093 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8094 customizing the hiding:
8098 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8099 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8100 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8101 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8102 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8103 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8104 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8109 Starting point of the hidden text.
8111 Ending point of the hidden text.
8113 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8115 Number of lines of hidden text.
8118 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8119 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8120 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8121 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8122 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8127 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8128 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8130 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8131 following two variables:
8134 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8135 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8136 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8137 50), hide the cited text.
8139 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8140 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8141 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8146 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8147 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8148 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8149 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8150 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8151 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8155 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8156 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8157 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8159 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8160 citation customization.
8162 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8166 @node Article Washing
8167 @subsection Article Washing
8169 @cindex article washing
8171 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8172 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8174 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8175 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8178 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8179 articles by default.
8184 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8185 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8189 @kindex W l (Summary)
8190 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8191 Remove page breaks from the current article
8192 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8196 @kindex W r (Summary)
8197 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8198 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8199 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8200 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8201 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8202 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8204 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8205 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8206 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8207 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8211 @kindex W t (Summary)
8213 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8214 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8215 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8218 @kindex W v (Summary)
8219 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8220 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8221 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8224 @kindex W o (Summary)
8225 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8226 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8229 @kindex W d (Summary)
8230 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8231 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8233 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8235 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8236 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8237 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8238 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8241 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8242 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8243 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8244 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8247 @kindex W k (Summary)
8248 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8249 @cindex Outlook Express
8250 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8251 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8254 @kindex W w (Summary)
8255 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8256 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8258 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8262 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8263 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8264 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8267 @kindex W C (Summary)
8268 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8269 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8270 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8273 @kindex W c (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8275 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8276 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8277 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8278 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8281 @kindex W q (Summary)
8282 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8283 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8284 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8285 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8286 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8287 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8288 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8289 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8290 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8293 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8294 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8295 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8296 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8297 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8298 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8299 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8301 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8304 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8305 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8306 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8307 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8308 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8311 @kindex W u (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8313 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8314 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8315 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8316 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8319 @kindex W h (Summary)
8320 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8321 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8322 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8323 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8325 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8327 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8328 The default is to use the function specified by
8329 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8330 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8331 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8339 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8343 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8346 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8349 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8354 @kindex W b (Summary)
8355 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8356 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8357 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8360 @kindex W B (Summary)
8361 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8362 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8363 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8366 @kindex W p (Summary)
8367 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8368 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8369 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8370 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8371 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8372 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8373 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8376 @kindex W s (Summary)
8377 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8378 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8379 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8382 @kindex W a (Summary)
8383 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8384 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8385 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8388 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8389 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8390 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8391 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8394 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8395 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8396 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8397 lines with a single empty line.
8398 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8401 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8402 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8403 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8404 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8407 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8408 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8409 Do all the three commands above
8410 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8413 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8415 Remove all blank lines
8416 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8419 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8420 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8421 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8422 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8425 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8426 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8427 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8428 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8432 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8435 @node Article Header
8436 @subsection Article Header
8438 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8443 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8444 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8445 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8448 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8449 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8450 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8451 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8454 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8456 Fold all the message headers
8457 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8461 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8462 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8463 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8468 @node Article Buttons
8469 @subsection Article Buttons
8472 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8473 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8474 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8475 button on these references.
8477 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8478 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8479 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8480 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8481 one that handles article heads:
8485 @item gnus-button-alist
8486 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8487 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8490 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8496 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8497 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8498 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8499 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8502 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8503 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8504 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8507 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8508 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8509 avoid false matches.
8512 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8515 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8516 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8520 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8523 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8526 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8527 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8528 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8529 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8530 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8533 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8536 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8538 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8539 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8540 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8541 default values of the variables above.
8543 @item gnus-article-button-face
8544 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8545 Face used on buttons.
8547 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8548 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8549 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8553 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8557 @subsection Article Date
8559 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8560 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8561 when the article was sent.
8566 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8567 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8568 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8569 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8572 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8573 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8575 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8576 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8579 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8580 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8581 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8584 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8586 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8587 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8590 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8591 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8592 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8593 @findex format-time-string
8594 Display the date using a user-defined format
8595 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8596 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8597 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8598 for a list of possible format specs.
8601 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8602 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8603 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8604 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8605 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8606 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8609 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8612 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8613 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8616 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8617 into wonderful absurdities.
8619 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8622 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8625 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8626 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8630 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8631 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8632 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8633 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8634 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8635 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8636 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8640 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8641 preferred format automatically.
8644 @node Article Display
8645 @subsection Article Display
8650 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8651 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8653 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8654 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8656 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8657 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8659 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8660 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8662 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8667 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8668 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8669 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8670 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8673 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8674 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8675 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8678 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8680 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8683 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8684 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8685 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8686 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8689 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8690 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8691 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8692 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8695 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8697 Remove all images from the article buffer
8698 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8704 @node Article Signature
8705 @subsection Article Signature
8707 @cindex article signature
8709 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8710 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8711 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8712 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8713 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8714 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8715 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8716 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8717 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8720 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8721 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8722 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8723 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8724 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8725 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8726 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8727 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8730 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8733 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8734 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8735 signature when displaying articles.
8739 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8742 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8745 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8746 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8748 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8749 in question is not a signature.
8752 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8753 listed above. Here's an example:
8756 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8757 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8760 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8761 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8762 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8763 signature after all.
8766 @node Article Miscellania
8767 @subsection Article Miscellania
8771 @kindex A t (Summary)
8772 @findex gnus-article-babel
8773 Translate the article from one language to another
8774 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8780 @section MIME Commands
8781 @cindex MIME decoding
8783 @cindex viewing attachments
8785 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8786 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8792 @kindex K v (Summary)
8793 View the @sc{mime} part.
8796 @kindex K o (Summary)
8797 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8800 @kindex K c (Summary)
8801 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8804 @kindex K e (Summary)
8805 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8808 @kindex K i (Summary)
8809 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8812 @kindex K | (Summary)
8813 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8816 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8821 @kindex K b (Summary)
8822 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8823 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8827 @kindex K m (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8829 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8830 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8831 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8832 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8835 @kindex X m (Summary)
8836 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8837 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8838 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8839 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8842 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8843 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8844 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8845 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8848 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8849 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8850 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8851 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8854 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8855 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8856 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8857 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8859 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8860 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8861 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8862 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8863 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8864 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8867 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8868 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8869 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8870 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8877 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8878 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8879 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8880 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8883 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8886 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8890 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8891 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8892 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8893 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8894 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8895 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8898 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8899 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8900 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8901 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8902 displayed. This variable overrides
8903 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8905 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8906 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8907 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8909 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8910 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8911 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8912 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8913 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8914 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8915 save all jpegs into some directory).
8917 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8920 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8921 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8923 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8924 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8925 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8926 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8927 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8930 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8931 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8932 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8934 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8935 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8936 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8937 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8939 Ready-made functions include@*
8940 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8941 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8942 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8943 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8944 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8945 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8946 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8947 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8948 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8949 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8950 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8951 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8953 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8954 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8956 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8957 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8958 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8961 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8962 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8963 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8964 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8968 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8977 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8978 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8979 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8980 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8981 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8982 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8983 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8985 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8986 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8987 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8988 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8990 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8991 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8992 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8993 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8994 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8995 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8996 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8997 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8999 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9000 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9001 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9002 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9003 quoted-printable header encoding.
9005 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9006 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9007 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9011 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9014 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9015 means encode all charsets),
9017 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9018 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9019 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9026 @cindex coding system aliases
9027 @cindex preferred charset
9029 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9031 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9032 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9035 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9036 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9039 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9040 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9042 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9045 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9048 This will almost do the right thing.
9050 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9054 (codepage-setup 1251)
9055 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9059 @node Article Commands
9060 @section Article Commands
9067 @kindex A P (Summary)
9068 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9069 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9070 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9071 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9072 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9073 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9078 @node Summary Sorting
9079 @section Summary Sorting
9080 @cindex summary sorting
9082 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9083 can't really see why you'd want that.
9088 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9090 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9093 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9094 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9095 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9098 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9099 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9100 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9103 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9104 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9105 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9108 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9109 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9110 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9113 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9114 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9115 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9118 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9119 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9120 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9123 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9124 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9125 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9128 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9129 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9130 Sort using the default sorting method
9131 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9134 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9135 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9136 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9137 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9138 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9142 @node Finding the Parent
9143 @section Finding the Parent
9144 @cindex parent articles
9145 @cindex referring articles
9150 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9151 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9152 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9153 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9154 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9155 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9156 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9157 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9158 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9160 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9161 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9162 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9163 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9164 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9168 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9169 @kindex A R (Summary)
9170 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9171 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9174 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9175 @kindex A T (Summary)
9176 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9177 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9178 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9179 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9180 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9181 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9182 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9184 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9185 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9186 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9187 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9188 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9189 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9192 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9193 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9195 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9196 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9197 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9198 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9199 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9200 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9201 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9204 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9205 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9206 by giving this command a prefix.
9208 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9209 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9210 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9211 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9212 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9213 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9216 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9217 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9218 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9221 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9222 then ask Google if that fails:
9225 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9227 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9230 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9231 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9232 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9233 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9234 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9235 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9236 support this at all.
9239 @node Alternative Approaches
9240 @section Alternative Approaches
9242 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9243 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9246 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9247 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9252 @subsection Pick and Read
9253 @cindex pick and read
9255 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9256 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9257 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9258 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9260 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9261 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9262 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9263 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9264 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9265 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9267 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9272 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9273 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9274 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9275 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9276 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9277 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9278 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9279 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9282 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9283 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9284 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9285 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9289 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9290 Unpick the thread or article
9291 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9292 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9293 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9294 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9295 the thread or article at that line.
9299 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9300 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9301 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9302 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9303 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9304 will still be visible when you are reading.
9308 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9309 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9310 which is mapped to the same function
9311 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9313 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9316 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9319 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9320 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9322 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9323 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9324 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9326 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9327 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9328 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9329 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9330 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9331 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9332 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9336 @subsection Binary Groups
9337 @cindex binary groups
9339 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9340 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9341 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9342 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9343 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9344 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9345 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9348 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9349 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9350 command, when you have turned on this mode
9351 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9353 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9354 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9358 @section Tree Display
9361 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9362 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9363 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9364 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9367 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9370 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9371 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9372 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9374 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9375 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9376 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9377 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9378 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9380 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9381 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9382 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9383 default is @code{modeline}.
9385 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9386 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9387 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9388 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9389 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9390 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9391 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9397 The name of the poster.
9399 The @code{From} header.
9401 The number of the article.
9403 The opening bracket.
9405 The closing bracket.
9410 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9412 Variables related to the display are:
9415 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9416 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9417 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9418 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9419 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9420 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9422 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9423 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9424 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9425 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9429 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9430 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9431 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9432 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9433 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9434 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9435 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9436 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9437 other windows displayed next to it.
9439 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9443 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9444 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9447 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9448 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9449 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9450 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9451 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9452 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9453 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9457 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9460 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9470 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9474 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9475 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9477 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9479 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9484 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9485 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9486 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9489 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9490 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9491 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9492 (gnus-add-configuration
9496 (summary 0.75 point)
9501 @xref{Window Layout}.
9504 @node Mail Group Commands
9505 @section Mail Group Commands
9506 @cindex mail group commands
9508 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9509 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9511 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9512 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9517 @kindex B e (Summary)
9518 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9519 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9520 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9521 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9522 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9525 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9526 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9527 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9528 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9529 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9530 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9533 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9534 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9535 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9536 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9537 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9538 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9541 @kindex B m (Summary)
9543 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9544 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9545 Move the article from one mail group to another
9546 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9547 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9550 @kindex B c (Summary)
9552 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9553 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9554 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9555 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9556 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9559 @kindex B B (Summary)
9560 @cindex crosspost mail
9561 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9562 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9563 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9564 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9565 be properly updated.
9568 @kindex B i (Summary)
9569 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9570 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9571 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9572 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9575 @kindex B I (Summary)
9576 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9577 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9578 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9579 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9582 @kindex B r (Summary)
9583 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9584 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9585 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9586 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9587 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9588 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9589 (which is the default).
9593 @kindex B w (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9596 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9597 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9598 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9599 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9600 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9601 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9604 @kindex B q (Summary)
9605 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9606 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9607 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9608 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9611 @kindex B t (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9613 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9614 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9617 @kindex B p (Summary)
9618 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9619 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9620 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9621 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9622 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9623 article from your news server (or rather, from
9624 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9625 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9626 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9627 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9628 just not have arrived yet.
9631 @kindex K E (Summary)
9632 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9633 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9634 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9635 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9636 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9640 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9641 @cindex moving articles
9642 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9643 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9644 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9645 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9646 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9647 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9648 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9651 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9652 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9653 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9654 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9658 @node Various Summary Stuff
9659 @section Various Summary Stuff
9662 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9663 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9664 * Summary Generation Commands::
9665 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9669 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9670 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9671 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9673 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9674 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9675 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9676 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9677 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9678 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9681 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9682 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9683 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9684 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9685 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9687 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9688 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9689 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9692 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9693 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9694 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9695 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9696 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9697 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9698 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9699 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9700 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9701 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9703 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9704 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9705 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9706 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9707 list of articles to be selected.
9709 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9710 the list in one particular group:
9713 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9714 (if (string= group "some.group")
9715 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9719 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9720 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9721 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9722 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9723 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9724 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9725 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9726 buffers. For example:
9729 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9730 '(message-use-followup-to
9731 (gnus-visible-headers .
9732 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9738 @node Summary Group Information
9739 @subsection Summary Group Information
9744 @kindex H f (Summary)
9745 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9746 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9747 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9748 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9749 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9750 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9751 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9752 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9753 be used for fetching the file.
9756 @kindex H d (Summary)
9757 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9758 Give a brief description of the current group
9759 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9760 rereading the description from the server.
9763 @kindex H h (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9765 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9766 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9769 @kindex H i (Summary)
9770 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9771 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9775 @node Searching for Articles
9776 @subsection Searching for Articles
9781 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9782 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9783 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9784 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9787 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9788 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9789 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9790 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9794 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9795 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9796 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9797 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9798 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9799 search backward instead.
9801 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9802 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9805 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9806 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9807 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9808 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9811 @node Summary Generation Commands
9812 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9817 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9818 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9819 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9822 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9823 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9824 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9825 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9830 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9831 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9837 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9838 @kindex A D (Summary)
9839 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9840 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9841 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9842 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9843 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9844 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9845 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9846 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9850 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9851 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9852 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9853 several documents into one biiig group
9854 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9855 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9856 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9857 command understands the process/prefix convention
9858 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9861 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9862 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9863 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9864 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9865 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9866 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9870 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9871 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9872 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9875 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9876 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9877 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9878 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9881 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9882 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9883 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9884 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9889 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9890 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9891 @cindex summary exit
9892 @cindex exiting groups
9894 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9895 group and return you to the group buffer.
9901 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9903 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9904 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9905 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9906 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9907 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9908 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9909 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9910 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9911 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9912 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9913 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9917 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9919 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9920 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9921 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9925 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9927 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9928 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9929 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9930 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9933 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9935 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9936 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9939 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9941 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9942 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9945 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9946 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9947 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9948 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9949 all articles, both read and unread.
9953 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9954 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9955 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9956 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9957 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9958 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9959 articles, both read and unread.
9962 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9963 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9964 Exit the group and go to the next group
9965 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9968 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9969 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9970 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9971 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9974 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9975 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9976 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9977 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9978 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9979 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9982 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9983 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9984 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9985 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9987 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9988 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9989 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9990 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9991 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9992 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9993 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9994 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9995 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9996 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9997 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9998 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10000 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10002 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10003 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10004 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10005 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10006 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10007 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10008 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10009 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10010 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10013 @node Crosspost Handling
10014 @section Crosspost Handling
10018 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10019 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10020 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10021 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10022 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10023 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10026 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10027 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10028 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10029 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10030 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10032 @cindex cross-posting
10035 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10036 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10037 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10038 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10039 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10040 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10041 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10042 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10043 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10044 the cross reference mechanism.
10046 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10047 @cindex overview.fmt
10048 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10049 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10050 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10051 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10052 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10053 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10056 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10057 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10058 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10063 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10066 @node Duplicate Suppression
10067 @section Duplicate Suppression
10069 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10070 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10071 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10072 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10077 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10078 is evil and not very common.
10081 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10082 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10085 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10086 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10089 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10092 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10093 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10095 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10096 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10097 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10098 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10099 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10100 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10101 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10104 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10105 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10106 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10107 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10108 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10109 saw the article in.
10112 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10113 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10114 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10116 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10117 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10118 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10119 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10120 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10121 session are suppressed.
10123 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10124 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10125 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10126 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10128 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10129 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10130 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10131 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10134 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10135 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10136 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10137 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10138 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10139 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10140 to you to figure out, I think.
10145 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10146 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10147 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10151 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10152 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10155 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10156 or newer is recommended.
10160 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10161 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10164 @item mm-verify-option
10165 @vindex mm-verify-option
10166 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10167 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10168 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10170 @item mm-decrypt-option
10171 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10172 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10173 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10174 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10179 @section Mailing List
10181 @kindex A M (summary)
10182 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10183 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10184 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10185 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10186 summary buffer, or say:
10189 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10192 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10197 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10198 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10199 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10202 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10203 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10204 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10207 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10208 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10209 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10213 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10214 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10215 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10218 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10219 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10220 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10223 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10224 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10225 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10229 @node Article Buffer
10230 @chapter Article Buffer
10231 @cindex article buffer
10233 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10234 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10235 tell Gnus otherwise.
10238 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10239 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10240 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10241 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10242 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10246 @node Hiding Headers
10247 @section Hiding Headers
10248 @cindex hiding headers
10249 @cindex deleting headers
10251 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10252 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10254 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10255 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10256 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10257 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10258 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10259 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10260 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10261 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10262 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10264 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10268 @item gnus-visible-headers
10269 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10270 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10271 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10272 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10274 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10275 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10278 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10281 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10284 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10285 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10286 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10287 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10288 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10289 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10291 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10292 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10295 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10298 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10301 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10302 variable will have no effect.
10306 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10307 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10308 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10309 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10310 the headers are to be displayed.
10312 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10313 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10316 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10319 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10320 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10322 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10323 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10324 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10325 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10326 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10327 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10328 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10331 These conditions are:
10334 Remove all empty headers.
10336 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10337 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10339 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10340 @code{From} header.
10342 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10345 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10346 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10348 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10351 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10353 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10356 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10359 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10360 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10363 This is also the default value for this variable.
10367 @section Using MIME
10370 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10371 while people stand around yawning.
10373 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10374 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10376 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10377 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10378 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10380 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10381 @findex gnus-display-mime
10382 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10383 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10384 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10385 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10387 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10391 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10392 @item RET (Article)
10393 @kindex RET (Article)
10394 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10395 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10396 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10397 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10398 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10399 object is displayed inline.
10401 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10402 @item M-RET (Article)
10403 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10405 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10406 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10408 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10410 @kindex t (Article)
10411 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10412 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10414 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10416 @kindex C (Article)
10417 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10418 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10420 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10422 @kindex o (Article)
10423 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10424 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10426 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10427 @item C-o (Article)
10428 @kindex C-o (Article)
10429 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10430 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10431 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10432 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10433 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10434 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10436 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10438 @kindex c (Article)
10439 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10440 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10442 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10444 @kindex p (Article)
10445 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10446 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10447 @file{.mailcap} file.
10449 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10451 @kindex i (Article)
10452 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10453 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10454 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10455 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10456 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10459 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10461 @kindex E (Article)
10462 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10463 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10464 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10466 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10468 @kindex e (Article)
10469 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10470 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10472 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10474 @kindex | (Article)
10475 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10477 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10479 @kindex . (Article)
10480 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10481 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10485 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10486 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10489 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10490 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10491 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10492 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10493 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10494 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10495 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10496 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10497 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10499 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10501 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10504 @node Customizing Articles
10505 @section Customizing Articles
10506 @cindex article customization
10508 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10509 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10510 called automatically when you select the articles.
10512 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10513 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10514 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10515 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10517 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10518 for sensible values.
10522 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10525 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10528 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10531 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10534 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10538 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10539 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10540 regexps in the list.
10543 A list where the first element is not a string:
10545 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10546 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10547 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10551 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10556 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10557 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10558 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10559 considered to contain just a single part.
10561 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10562 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10563 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10564 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10565 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10566 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10567 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10569 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10570 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10571 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10572 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10575 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10576 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10578 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10580 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10581 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10582 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10583 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10584 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10585 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10586 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10587 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10588 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10589 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10591 @xref{Article Washing}.
10593 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10594 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10595 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10596 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10597 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10598 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10599 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10601 @xref{Article Date}.
10603 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10604 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10605 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10609 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10611 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10613 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10614 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10615 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10619 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10623 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10624 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10625 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10626 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10627 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10628 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10629 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10630 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10632 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10634 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10635 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10636 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10638 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10640 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10641 @item gnus-treat-translate
10642 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10644 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10645 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10646 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10647 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10649 @xref{Article Header}.
10654 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10655 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10656 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10657 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10658 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10662 @node Article Keymap
10663 @section Article Keymap
10665 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10666 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10667 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10668 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10671 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10676 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10677 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10678 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10681 @kindex DEL (Article)
10682 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10683 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10686 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10687 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10688 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10689 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10690 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10693 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10694 @findex gnus-article-mail
10695 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10696 given a prefix, include the mail.
10699 @kindex s (Article)
10700 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10701 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10702 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10705 @kindex ? (Article)
10706 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10707 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10708 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10711 @kindex TAB (Article)
10712 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10713 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10714 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10717 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10718 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10719 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10722 @kindex R (Article)
10723 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10724 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10725 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10726 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10730 @kindex F (Article)
10731 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10732 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10733 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10734 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10742 @section Misc Article
10746 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10747 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10748 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10749 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10752 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10753 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10755 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10756 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10758 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10759 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10760 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10761 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10762 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10763 the contents of the article buffer.
10765 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10766 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10767 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10769 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10770 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10771 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10772 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10774 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10775 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10776 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10777 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10778 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10784 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10785 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10786 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10791 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10794 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10797 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10798 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10799 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10802 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10805 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10808 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10813 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10817 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10819 @item gnus-break-pages
10820 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10821 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10822 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10823 paging will not be done.
10825 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10826 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10827 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10832 @node Composing Messages
10833 @chapter Composing Messages
10834 @cindex composing messages
10837 @cindex sending mail
10842 @cindex using s/mime
10843 @cindex using smime
10845 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10846 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10847 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10848 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10849 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10850 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10853 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10854 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10855 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10856 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10857 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10858 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10859 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10860 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10863 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10864 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10870 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10873 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10874 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10875 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10876 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10878 @item gnus-add-to-list
10879 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10880 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10881 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10883 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10884 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10885 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10886 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10887 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10892 @node Posting Server
10893 @section Posting Server
10895 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10896 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10898 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10900 It can be quite complicated.
10902 @vindex gnus-post-method
10903 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10904 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10905 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10906 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10907 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10908 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10909 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10910 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10911 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10914 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10917 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10918 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10919 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10920 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10922 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10923 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10925 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10926 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10929 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10930 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10932 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10933 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10934 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10935 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10936 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10937 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10938 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10939 package correctly. An example:
10942 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10943 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10946 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10947 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10948 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10950 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10951 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10952 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10954 @node Mail and Post
10955 @section Mail and Post
10957 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10961 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10962 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10963 @cindex mailing lists
10965 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10966 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10967 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10968 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10969 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10970 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10971 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10972 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10973 still a pain, though.
10977 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10978 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10979 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10982 @findex ispell-message
10984 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10987 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10988 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10991 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10995 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10996 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10998 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11001 Modify to suit your needs.
11004 @node Archived Messages
11005 @section Archived Messages
11006 @cindex archived messages
11007 @cindex sent messages
11009 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11010 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11011 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11012 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11015 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11016 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11019 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11020 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11021 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11024 (nnfolder "archive"
11025 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11026 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11027 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11028 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11031 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11032 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11033 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11034 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11037 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11038 '(nnfolder "archive"
11039 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11040 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11041 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11044 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11046 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11047 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11048 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11050 This variable can be used to do the following:
11055 Messages will be saved in that group.
11057 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11058 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11059 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11060 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11061 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11062 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11063 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11064 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11068 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11070 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11071 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11074 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11079 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11081 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11084 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11086 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11089 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11091 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11092 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11093 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11094 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11097 More complex stuff:
11099 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11100 '((if (message-news-p)
11105 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11106 messages in one file per month:
11109 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11110 '((if (message-news-p)
11112 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11115 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11116 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11118 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11119 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11120 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11121 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11122 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11123 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11124 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11125 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11126 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11127 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11129 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11130 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11131 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11132 this will disable archiving.
11135 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11136 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11137 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11138 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11139 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11142 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11143 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11144 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11147 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11148 but the latter is the preferred method.
11150 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11151 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11152 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11154 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11155 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11156 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11157 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11158 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11159 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11160 changed in the future.
11165 @node Posting Styles
11166 @section Posting Styles
11167 @cindex posting styles
11170 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11172 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11173 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11174 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11177 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11178 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11179 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11180 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11181 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11186 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11187 (organization "What me?"))
11189 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11190 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11191 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11194 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11195 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11196 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11197 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11198 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11199 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11200 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11201 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11203 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11204 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11205 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11206 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11207 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11208 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11209 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11210 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11211 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11213 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11214 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11215 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11216 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11217 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11218 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11219 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11220 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11221 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11222 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11225 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11226 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11227 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11228 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11229 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11230 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11231 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11232 references chars lines xref extra.
11234 @vindex message-reply-headers
11236 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11237 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11238 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11240 @findex message-mail-p
11241 @findex message-news-p
11243 So here's a new example:
11246 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11248 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11250 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11251 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11253 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11254 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11255 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11256 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11257 (signature my-news-signature))
11258 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11259 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11260 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11261 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11262 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11263 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11264 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11265 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11266 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11267 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11269 (From (save-excursion
11270 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11271 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11273 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11276 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11277 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11278 if you fill many roles.
11285 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11286 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11287 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11288 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11289 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11291 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11292 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11293 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11294 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11295 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11299 @vindex nndraft-directory
11300 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11301 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11302 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11303 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11304 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11305 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11307 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11308 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11311 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11312 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11313 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11314 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11315 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11316 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11317 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11318 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11319 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11320 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11321 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11322 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11323 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11324 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11326 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11327 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11328 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11330 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11331 @kindex D e (Draft)
11332 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11333 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11334 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11336 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11339 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11340 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11341 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11342 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11343 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11344 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11345 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11348 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11349 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11350 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11353 @node Rejected Articles
11354 @section Rejected Articles
11355 @cindex rejected articles
11357 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11358 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11359 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11360 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11362 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11363 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11364 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11365 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11366 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11368 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11369 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11370 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11372 @node Signing and encrypting
11373 @section Signing and encrypting
11375 @cindex using s/mime
11376 @cindex using smime
11378 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11379 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11380 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11381 (@pxref{Security}).
11383 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11384 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11385 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11387 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11388 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11389 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11390 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11391 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11392 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11393 automatically encrypted messages.
11395 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11396 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11397 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11402 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11403 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11405 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11408 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11409 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11411 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11414 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11415 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11417 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11420 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11421 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11423 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11426 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11427 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11429 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11432 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11433 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11435 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11438 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11439 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11440 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11444 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11446 @node Select Methods
11447 @chapter Select Methods
11448 @cindex foreign groups
11449 @cindex select methods
11451 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11452 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11453 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11454 personal mail group.
11456 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11457 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11458 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11459 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11460 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11461 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11463 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11464 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11466 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11469 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11470 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11471 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11472 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11473 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11475 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11478 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11479 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11480 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11481 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11482 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11483 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11484 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11485 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11489 @node Server Buffer
11490 @section Server Buffer
11492 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11493 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11494 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11495 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11496 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11497 back end represents a virtual server.
11499 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11500 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11501 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11502 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11504 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11505 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11506 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11507 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11508 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11509 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11510 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11512 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11513 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11516 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11517 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11518 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11519 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11520 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11521 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11522 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11525 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11526 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11529 @node Server Buffer Format
11530 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11531 @cindex server buffer format
11533 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11534 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11535 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11536 variable, with some simple extensions:
11541 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11544 The name of this server.
11547 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11550 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11553 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11554 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11555 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11556 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11566 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11569 @node Server Commands
11570 @subsection Server Commands
11571 @cindex server commands
11577 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11578 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11582 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11583 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11586 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11587 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11588 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11592 @findex gnus-server-exit
11593 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11597 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11598 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11602 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11603 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11607 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11608 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11612 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11613 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11617 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11618 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11619 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11624 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11625 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11626 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11627 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11632 @node Example Methods
11633 @subsection Example Methods
11635 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11638 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11641 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11647 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11648 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11651 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11652 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11654 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11655 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11659 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11662 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11663 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11665 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11666 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11667 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11671 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11674 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11677 Here's the method for a public spool:
11681 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11682 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11688 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11689 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11690 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11691 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11692 should probably look something like this:
11696 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11697 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11698 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11699 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11702 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11703 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11704 configuration to the example above:
11707 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11710 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11712 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11713 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11714 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11718 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11719 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11720 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11721 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11724 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11725 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11726 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11727 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11730 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11731 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11733 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11734 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11736 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11737 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11738 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11740 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11742 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11743 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11744 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11745 will contain the following:
11755 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11756 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11757 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11760 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11761 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11762 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11765 @node Server Variables
11766 @subsection Server Variables
11768 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11769 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11770 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11771 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11772 won't change the "derived" variables.
11774 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11775 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11776 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11777 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11778 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11779 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11780 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11781 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11782 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11786 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11787 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11788 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11792 @node Servers and Methods
11793 @subsection Servers and Methods
11795 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11796 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11797 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11798 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11802 @node Unavailable Servers
11803 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11805 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11806 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11807 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11808 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11809 actually the case or not.
11811 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11812 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11813 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11814 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11815 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11816 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11817 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11818 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11820 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11821 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11823 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11824 with the following commands:
11830 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11831 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11832 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11836 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11837 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11838 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11842 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11843 Mark the current server as unreachable
11844 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11847 @kindex M-o (Server)
11848 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11849 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11850 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11853 @kindex M-c (Server)
11854 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11855 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11856 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11860 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11861 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11862 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11866 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11867 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11873 @section Getting News
11874 @cindex reading news
11875 @cindex news back ends
11877 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11878 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11879 or it can read from a local spool.
11882 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11883 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11891 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11892 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11893 server as the, uhm, address.
11895 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11896 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11897 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11898 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11900 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11901 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11902 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11904 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11909 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11910 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11911 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11913 @cindex authentification
11914 @cindex nntp authentification
11915 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11916 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11917 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11918 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11919 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11920 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11921 present in this hook.
11923 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11924 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11925 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11926 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11927 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11928 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11929 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11930 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11931 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11932 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11933 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11934 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11938 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11941 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11943 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11944 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11945 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11946 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11947 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11948 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11949 @samp{force} is explained below.
11953 Here's an example file:
11956 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11957 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11960 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11961 have to be first, for instance.
11963 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11964 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11965 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11966 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11967 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11968 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11969 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11971 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11972 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11978 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11979 previously mentioned.
11981 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11983 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11984 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11985 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11986 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11987 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11990 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11991 '(("innd" (ding))))
11994 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11996 The default value is
11999 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12000 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12001 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12004 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12005 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12007 @item nntp-maximum-request
12008 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12009 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12010 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12011 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12012 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12013 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12014 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12016 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12017 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12018 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12019 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12020 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12021 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12022 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12023 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12024 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12025 no timeouts are done.
12027 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12028 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12029 @c @cindex PPP connections
12030 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12031 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12032 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12033 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12034 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12035 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12036 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12037 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12038 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12039 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12041 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12042 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12043 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12044 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12045 @c described above.
12047 @item nntp-server-hook
12048 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12049 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12052 @item nntp-buggy-select
12053 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12054 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12056 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12057 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12058 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12059 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12062 @item nntp-xover-commands
12063 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12066 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12067 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12071 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12072 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12073 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12074 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12075 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12076 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12077 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12078 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12079 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12080 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12081 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12083 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12084 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12085 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12087 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12088 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12089 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12090 server closes connection.
12092 @item nntp-record-commands
12093 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12094 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12095 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12096 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12097 that doesn't seem to work.
12099 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12100 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12101 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12102 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12103 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12104 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12105 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12106 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12108 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12109 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12110 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12111 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12112 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12113 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12114 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12117 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12120 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12121 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12125 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12126 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12127 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12131 @node Direct Functions
12132 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12133 @cindex direct connection functions
12135 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12136 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12137 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12138 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12141 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12142 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12143 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12146 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12147 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12148 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12149 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12150 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12151 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12152 define a server as follows:
12155 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12157 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12158 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12160 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12161 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12162 (nntp-port-number 563)
12163 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12166 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12167 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12168 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12169 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12170 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12171 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12172 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12173 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12177 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12178 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12179 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12182 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12183 session, which is not a good idea.
12187 @node Indirect Functions
12188 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12189 @cindex indirect connection functions
12191 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12192 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12193 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12194 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12195 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12196 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12199 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12200 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12201 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12202 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12203 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12205 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12208 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12209 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12210 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12211 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12213 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12214 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12215 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12216 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12217 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12218 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12219 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12220 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12223 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12224 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12225 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12226 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12228 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12231 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12232 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12233 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12236 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12237 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12238 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12239 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12241 @item nntp-via-user-password
12242 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12243 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12245 @item nntp-via-envuser
12246 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12247 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12248 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12249 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12251 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12252 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12253 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12254 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12261 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12266 @item nntp-via-user-name
12267 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12268 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12270 @item nntp-via-address
12271 @vindex nntp-via-address
12272 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12277 @node Common Variables
12278 @subsubsection Common Variables
12280 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12281 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12286 @item nntp-pre-command
12287 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12288 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12289 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12290 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12291 wrapper for instance.
12294 @vindex nntp-address
12295 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12297 @item nntp-port-number
12298 @vindex nntp-port-number
12299 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12300 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12301 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12302 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12304 @item nntp-end-of-line
12305 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12306 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12307 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12308 using a non native connection function.
12310 @item nntp-telnet-command
12311 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12312 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12313 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12314 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12316 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12317 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12318 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12325 @subsection News Spool
12329 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12330 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12331 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12334 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12335 anything else) as the address.
12337 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12338 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12339 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12340 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12344 @item nnspool-inews-program
12345 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12346 Program used to post an article.
12348 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12349 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12350 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12352 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12353 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12354 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12355 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12357 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12358 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12359 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12360 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12362 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12363 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12364 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12366 @item nnspool-active-file
12367 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12368 The path to the active file.
12370 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12371 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12372 The path to the group descriptions file.
12374 @item nnspool-history-file
12375 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12376 The path to the news history file.
12378 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12379 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12380 The path to the active date file.
12382 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12383 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12384 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12387 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12388 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12390 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12391 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12392 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12398 @section Getting Mail
12399 @cindex reading mail
12402 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12406 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12407 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12408 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12409 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12410 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12411 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12412 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12413 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12414 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12415 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12416 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12417 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12418 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12422 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12423 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12425 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12426 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12427 of a culture shock.
12429 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12430 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12432 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12433 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12434 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12435 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12437 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12439 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12440 deleted? How awful!
12442 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12443 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12444 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12445 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12448 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12449 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12450 they want to treat a message.
12452 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12453 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12454 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12455 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12456 archived somewhere else.
12458 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12459 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12460 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12461 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12462 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12464 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12465 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12466 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12468 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12469 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12472 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12473 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12474 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12475 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12476 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12478 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12479 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12480 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12481 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12482 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12483 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12487 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12488 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12490 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12491 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12492 and things will happen automatically.
12494 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12495 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12498 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12501 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12502 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12503 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12504 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12505 like any other group.
12507 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12510 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12511 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12512 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12516 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12517 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12518 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12521 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12522 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12523 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12526 @node Splitting Mail
12527 @subsection Splitting Mail
12528 @cindex splitting mail
12529 @cindex mail splitting
12531 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12532 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12533 to be split into groups.
12536 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12537 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12538 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12539 ("mail.other" "")))
12542 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12543 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12544 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12545 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12546 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12547 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12548 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12551 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12554 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12555 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12556 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12557 mail belongs in that group.
12559 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12560 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12561 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12562 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12563 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12564 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12566 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12567 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12568 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12569 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12570 thinks should carry this mail message.
12572 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12573 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12574 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12575 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12577 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12578 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12579 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12580 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12581 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12583 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12586 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12587 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12588 links. If that's the case for you, set
12589 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12590 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12592 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12593 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12594 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12595 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12596 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12597 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12600 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12601 Header lines longer than the value of
12602 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12605 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12606 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12607 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12608 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12609 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12610 can be turned off completely by binding
12611 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12612 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12614 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12615 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12616 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12617 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12618 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12619 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12620 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12623 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12624 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12625 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12626 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12627 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12628 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12629 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12630 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12631 month's rent money.
12635 @subsection Mail Sources
12637 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12638 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12642 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12643 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12644 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12648 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12649 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12651 @cindex mail server
12654 @cindex mail source
12656 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12657 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12662 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12665 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12666 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12667 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12670 The following mail source types are available:
12674 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12680 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12681 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12682 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12685 An example file mail source:
12688 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12691 Or using the default path:
12697 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12698 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12699 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12702 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12706 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12709 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12713 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12716 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12718 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12721 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12725 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12726 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12727 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12728 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12729 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12730 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12731 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12732 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12733 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12734 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12736 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12737 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12738 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12739 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12745 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12749 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12753 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12754 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12755 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12756 predicate are considered.
12760 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12764 An example directory mail source:
12767 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12772 Get mail from a POP server.
12778 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12779 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12782 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12783 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12784 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12785 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12786 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12789 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12793 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12797 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12798 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12801 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12804 The valid format specifier characters are:
12808 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12809 included in this string.
12812 The name of the server.
12815 The port number of the server.
12818 The user name to use.
12821 The password to use.
12824 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12825 corresponding keywords.
12828 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12829 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12832 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12833 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12836 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12837 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12840 @item :authentication
12841 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12842 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12847 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12848 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12850 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12851 default user name, and default fetcher:
12857 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12860 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12861 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12864 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12867 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12871 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12872 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12873 contains exactly one mail.
12879 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12880 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12883 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12884 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12886 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12887 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12888 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12891 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12892 from locking problems).
12896 Two example maildir mail sources:
12899 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12900 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12904 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12909 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12910 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12911 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12912 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12915 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12916 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12922 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12923 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12926 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12927 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12930 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12934 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12938 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12939 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12940 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12941 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12943 @item :authentication
12944 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12945 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12946 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12947 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12950 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12951 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12952 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12958 The valid format specifier characters are:
12962 The name of the server.
12965 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12968 The port number of the server.
12971 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12972 corresponding keywords.
12975 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12976 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12979 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12980 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12981 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12982 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12983 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12984 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12987 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12988 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12989 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12990 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12993 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12994 after finishing the fetch.
12998 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13001 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13003 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13007 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13008 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13009 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13011 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13012 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13014 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13020 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13021 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13024 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13028 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13032 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13033 folder after finishing the fetch.
13037 An example webmail source:
13040 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13042 :password "secret")
13047 @item Common Keywords
13048 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13054 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13055 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13059 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13064 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13065 useful when you use local mail and news.
13070 @subsubsection Function Interface
13072 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13073 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13074 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13075 consider the following mail-source setting:
13078 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13079 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13082 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13083 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13084 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13085 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13086 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13088 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13091 @node Mail Source Customization
13092 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13094 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13095 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13099 @item mail-source-crash-box
13100 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13101 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13102 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13104 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13105 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13106 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13108 @item mail-source-directory
13109 @vindex mail-source-directory
13110 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13111 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13112 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13115 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13116 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13117 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13118 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13119 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13120 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13122 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13123 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13124 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13126 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13127 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13128 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13129 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13134 @node Fetching Mail
13135 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13137 @vindex mail-sources
13138 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13139 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13140 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13141 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13143 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13144 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13147 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13148 mail server, you'd say something like:
13153 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13154 :password "secret")))
13157 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13161 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13162 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13165 :password "secret")))
13169 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13170 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13171 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13172 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13173 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13174 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13178 @node Mail Back End Variables
13179 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13181 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13185 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13186 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13187 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13188 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13190 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13191 @item nnmail-split-hook
13192 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13193 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13194 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13195 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13196 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13197 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13198 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13199 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13200 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13203 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13204 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13205 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13206 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13207 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13208 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13209 starting to handle the new mail) and
13210 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13211 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13212 default file modes the new mail files get:
13215 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13216 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13218 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13219 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13222 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13223 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13224 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13225 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13226 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13227 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13228 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13230 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13231 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13232 @findex delete-file
13233 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13235 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13236 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13237 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13238 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13239 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13241 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13242 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13243 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13244 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13245 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13247 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13248 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13249 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13254 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13255 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13256 @cindex mail splitting
13257 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13259 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13260 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13261 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13262 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13263 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13264 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13266 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13269 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13270 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13271 ;; from real errors.
13272 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13274 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13275 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13276 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13277 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13278 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13279 ;; Other mailing lists...
13280 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13281 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13282 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13283 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13284 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13285 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13286 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13287 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13289 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13290 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13294 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13295 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13296 the five possible split syntaxes:
13301 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13302 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13306 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13307 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13308 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13309 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13310 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13311 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13312 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13313 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13316 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13317 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13318 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13319 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13322 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13323 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13326 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13327 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13330 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13331 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13332 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13333 function should return a @var{split}.
13336 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13337 body of the messages:
13340 (defun split-on-body ()
13342 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13343 (goto-char (point-min))
13344 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13348 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13349 when the @code{:} function is run.
13352 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13353 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13354 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13358 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13362 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13363 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13364 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13365 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13366 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13368 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13369 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13370 are expanded as specified by the variable
13371 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13372 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13375 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13376 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13377 when all this splitting is performed.
13379 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13380 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13381 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13384 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13387 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13388 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13390 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13391 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13392 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13393 groupings 1 through 9.
13395 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13396 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13397 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13398 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13399 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13400 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13401 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13402 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13403 it once per thread.
13405 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13406 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13407 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13410 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13411 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13413 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13414 ;; other splits go here
13418 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13419 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13420 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13421 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13422 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13423 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13424 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13425 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13426 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13427 unless the group name matches the regexp
13428 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13429 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13430 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13431 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13432 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13433 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13434 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13435 messages goes into the new group.
13437 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13438 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13439 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13440 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13441 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13445 @node Group Mail Splitting
13446 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13447 @cindex mail splitting
13448 @cindex group mail splitting
13450 @findex gnus-group-split
13451 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13452 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13453 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13454 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13455 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13456 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13457 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13458 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13460 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13461 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13462 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13463 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13465 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13466 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13467 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13468 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13469 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13470 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13471 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13473 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13474 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13475 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13476 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13477 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13478 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13479 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13481 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13482 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13483 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13484 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13485 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13486 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13487 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13488 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13489 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13490 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13491 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13492 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13493 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13495 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13500 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13501 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13503 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13504 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13505 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13506 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13508 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13511 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13512 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13513 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13516 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13517 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13518 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13522 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13523 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13524 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13528 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13531 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13532 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13533 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13534 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13535 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13536 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13537 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13538 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13539 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13541 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13542 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13543 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13544 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13545 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13546 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13547 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13548 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13549 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13551 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13552 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13553 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13554 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13555 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13556 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13559 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13562 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13563 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13564 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13565 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13566 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13569 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13570 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13571 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13572 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13574 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13575 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13576 @cindex incorporating old mail
13577 @cindex import old mail
13579 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13580 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13581 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13584 Doing so can be quite easy.
13586 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13587 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13588 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13589 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13590 your @code{nnml} groups.
13596 Go to the group buffer.
13599 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13600 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13603 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13606 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13607 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13610 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13611 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13614 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13615 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13616 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13617 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13618 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13620 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13621 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13622 using the new mail back end.
13625 @node Expiring Mail
13626 @subsection Expiring Mail
13627 @cindex article expiry
13629 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13630 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13631 different approach to mail reading.
13633 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13634 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13635 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13636 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13637 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13638 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13641 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13642 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13643 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13644 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13645 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13646 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13647 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13648 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13650 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13651 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13652 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13653 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13654 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13655 column in the summary buffer.
13657 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13658 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13659 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13660 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13663 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13665 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13666 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13667 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13670 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13671 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13672 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13673 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13674 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13676 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13677 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13680 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13681 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13684 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13685 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13687 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13688 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13689 don't really mix very well.
13691 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13692 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13693 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13694 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13697 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13698 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13699 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13700 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13703 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13705 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13707 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13709 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13711 ((string= group "important")
13717 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13718 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13720 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13721 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13722 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13725 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13726 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13728 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13729 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13730 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13731 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13732 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13733 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13734 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13735 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13736 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13737 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13738 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13739 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13740 name or @code{delete}.
13742 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13744 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13747 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13748 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13749 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13750 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13751 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13754 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13755 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13756 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13757 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13758 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13761 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13762 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13763 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13764 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13765 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13766 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13768 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13769 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13770 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13771 easier for procmail users.
13773 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13774 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13775 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13776 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13777 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13778 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13779 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13780 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13781 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13782 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13783 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13784 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13785 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13788 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13790 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13791 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13792 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13793 auto-expire turned on.
13797 @subsection Washing Mail
13798 @cindex mail washing
13799 @cindex list server brain damage
13800 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13802 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13803 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13804 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13805 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13806 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13807 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13809 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13810 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13811 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13814 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13815 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13816 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13817 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13820 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13821 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13822 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13823 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13824 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13827 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13828 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13829 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13830 Emacs running on MS machines.
13834 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13835 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13836 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13837 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13840 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13841 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13842 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13843 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13845 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13846 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13847 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13848 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13849 into a feature by documenting it.)
13851 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13852 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13853 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13854 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13855 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13856 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13857 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13860 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13861 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13864 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13865 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13868 This can also be done non-destructively with
13869 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13871 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13872 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13873 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13875 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13876 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13878 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13879 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13880 @code{References} headers.
13884 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13885 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13886 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13890 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13891 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13892 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13899 @subsection Duplicates
13901 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13902 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13903 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13904 @cindex duplicate mails
13905 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13906 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13907 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13908 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13909 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13910 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13911 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13912 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13913 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13914 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13915 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13916 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13917 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13919 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13920 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13921 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13922 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13924 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13927 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13928 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13932 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13933 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13934 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13935 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13936 (any mail "mail.misc")
13943 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13944 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13949 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13950 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13951 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13952 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13953 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13956 @node Not Reading Mail
13957 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13959 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13960 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13961 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13963 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13964 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13965 mail, which should help.
13967 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13968 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13969 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13970 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13971 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13972 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13973 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13974 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13975 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13976 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13977 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13979 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13980 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13984 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13985 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13987 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13988 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13989 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13991 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13992 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13993 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13994 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13995 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13996 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13997 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14000 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14001 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14002 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14003 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14004 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14005 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14009 @node Unix Mail Box
14010 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14012 @cindex unix mail box
14014 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14015 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14016 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14017 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14018 which group it belongs in.
14020 Virtual server settings:
14023 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14024 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14025 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14028 @item nnmbox-active-file
14029 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14030 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14031 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14033 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14034 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14035 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14036 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14041 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14045 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14046 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14047 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14048 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14049 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14051 Virtual server settings:
14054 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14055 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14056 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14058 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14059 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14060 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14061 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14063 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14064 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14065 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14071 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14073 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14075 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14076 format. It should be used with some caution.
14078 @vindex nnml-directory
14079 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14080 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14081 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14082 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14084 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14087 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14088 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14089 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14090 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14091 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14092 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14093 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14094 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14096 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14097 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14098 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14099 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14101 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14103 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14104 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14105 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14106 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14107 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14108 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14109 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14110 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14113 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14114 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14115 them next time it starts.
14117 Virtual server settings:
14120 @item nnml-directory
14121 @vindex nnml-directory
14122 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14123 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14126 @item nnml-active-file
14127 @vindex nnml-active-file
14128 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14129 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14131 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14132 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14133 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14134 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14136 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14137 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14138 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14141 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14142 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14143 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14144 default is @code{nil}.
14146 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14147 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14148 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14150 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14151 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14152 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14154 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14155 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14156 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14157 default is @code{nil}.
14159 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14160 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14161 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14163 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14164 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14165 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14170 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14171 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14172 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14173 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14174 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14175 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14176 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14181 @subsubsection MH Spool
14183 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14185 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14186 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14187 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14188 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14190 Virtual server settings:
14193 @item nnmh-directory
14194 @vindex nnmh-directory
14195 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14196 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14199 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14200 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14201 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14205 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14206 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14207 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14208 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14209 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14210 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14211 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14216 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14218 @cindex mbox folders
14219 @cindex mail folders
14221 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14222 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14223 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14226 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14228 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14229 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14230 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14231 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14232 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14233 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14234 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14235 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14236 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14237 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14239 Virtual server settings:
14242 @item nnfolder-directory
14243 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14244 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14245 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14248 @item nnfolder-active-file
14249 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14250 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14252 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14253 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14254 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14255 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14257 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14258 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14259 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14262 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14263 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14264 @cindex backup files
14265 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14266 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14267 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14268 your @file{.emacs} file:
14271 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14272 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14274 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14277 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14278 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14279 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14280 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14281 extract some information from it before removing it.
14283 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14284 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14285 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14286 default is @code{nil}.
14288 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14289 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14290 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14292 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14293 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14294 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14295 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14297 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14298 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14299 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14300 default is @code{nil}.
14302 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14303 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14304 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14306 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14307 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14308 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14309 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14314 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14315 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14316 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14317 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14318 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14319 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14322 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14323 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14325 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14326 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14327 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14328 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14329 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14331 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14332 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14333 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14334 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14335 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14336 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14337 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14338 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14341 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14342 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14343 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14344 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14349 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14350 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14351 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14352 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14353 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14354 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14355 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14356 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14357 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14358 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14359 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14360 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14361 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14366 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14367 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14368 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14369 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14370 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14371 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14372 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14373 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14374 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14375 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14376 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14377 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14378 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14379 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14381 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14382 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14387 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14388 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14389 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14390 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14391 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14392 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14393 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14394 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14395 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14396 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14397 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14398 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14399 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14400 provided by the active file and overviews.
14402 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14403 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14404 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14405 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14406 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14409 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14410 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14415 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14416 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14417 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14418 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14419 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14420 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14421 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14425 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14426 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14427 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14428 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14429 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14430 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14431 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14432 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14433 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14435 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14436 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14437 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14438 friendly mail back end all over.
14442 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14443 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14444 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14445 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14446 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14447 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14448 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14449 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14452 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14453 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14454 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14455 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14456 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14457 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14458 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14459 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14460 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14461 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14462 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14464 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14465 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14466 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14467 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14468 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14469 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14470 This will probably be changed in the future.
14472 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14473 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14474 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14475 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14476 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14479 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14480 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14482 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14483 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14484 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14485 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14486 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14487 would) to make it use less memory.
14489 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14490 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14491 depending in part on your filesystem.
14493 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14494 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14499 @node Browsing the Web
14500 @section Browsing the Web
14502 @cindex browsing the web
14506 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14507 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14508 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14509 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14510 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14511 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14512 even know what a news group is.
14514 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14515 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14516 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14517 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14518 you mad in the end.
14520 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14523 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14524 interfaces to these sources.
14528 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14529 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14530 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14531 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14532 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14533 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14536 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14538 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14539 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14540 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14541 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14542 though, you should be ok.
14544 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14545 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14546 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14547 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14548 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14550 @node Archiving Mail
14551 @subsection Archiving Mail
14552 @cindex archiving mail
14553 @cindex backup of mail
14555 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14556 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14557 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14558 marks is fairly simple.
14560 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14561 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14564 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14565 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14566 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14567 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14568 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14569 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14570 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14571 before you restore the data.
14573 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14574 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14575 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14576 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14577 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14578 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14579 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14580 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14581 is unnecessary in that case.
14584 @subsection Web Searches
14589 @cindex Usenet searches
14590 @cindex searching the Usenet
14592 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14593 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14594 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14595 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14596 searches without having to use a browser.
14598 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14599 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14600 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14601 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14602 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14604 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14605 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14606 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14607 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14608 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14609 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14610 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14611 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14612 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14613 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14616 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14617 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14618 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14619 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14620 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14621 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14623 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14624 to use @code{nnweb}.
14626 Virtual server variables:
14631 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14632 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14633 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14636 @vindex nnweb-search
14637 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14639 @item nnweb-max-hits
14640 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14641 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14644 @item nnweb-type-definition
14645 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14646 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14647 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14652 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14656 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14659 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14662 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14666 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14673 @subsection Slashdot
14677 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14678 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14679 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14681 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14682 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14685 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14686 '((nnslashdot "")))
14689 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14690 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14691 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14692 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14693 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14696 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14697 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14699 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14700 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14701 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14702 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14703 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14704 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14707 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14710 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14711 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14712 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14713 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14714 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14715 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14716 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14718 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14719 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14720 The login name to use when posting.
14722 @item nnslashdot-password
14723 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14724 The password to use when posting.
14726 @item nnslashdot-directory
14727 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14728 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14729 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14731 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14732 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14733 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14734 news articles and comments. The default is
14735 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14737 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14738 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14739 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14741 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14743 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14744 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14745 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14747 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14749 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14750 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14751 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14753 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14754 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14755 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14756 updated. The default is 0.
14763 @subsection Ultimate
14765 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14767 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14768 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14769 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14770 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14772 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14773 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14774 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14775 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14776 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14777 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14778 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14780 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14783 @item nnultimate-directory
14784 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14785 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14786 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14791 @subsection Web Archive
14793 @cindex Web Archive
14795 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14796 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14797 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14798 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14801 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14802 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14803 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14804 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14805 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14806 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14807 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14809 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14812 @item nnwarchive-directory
14813 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14814 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14815 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14817 @item nnwarchive-login
14818 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14819 The account name on the web server.
14821 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14822 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14823 The password for your account on the web server.
14831 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14832 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14833 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14836 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14837 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14840 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14843 @item nnrss-directory
14844 @vindex nnrss-directory
14845 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14846 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14850 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14851 the summary buffer.
14854 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14855 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14857 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14859 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14860 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14863 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14866 (require 'browse-url)
14868 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14870 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14873 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14874 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14877 (browse-url (cdr url))
14878 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
14879 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14881 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14882 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14883 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14884 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14887 @node Customizing w3
14888 @subsection Customizing w3
14894 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14895 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14896 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14898 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14899 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14900 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14903 (eval-after-load "w3"
14905 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14906 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14907 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14908 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14910 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14913 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14914 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14923 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14924 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14925 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14926 specify the network address of the server.
14928 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14929 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14930 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14931 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14932 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14934 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14935 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14936 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14937 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14939 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14940 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14941 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14942 usage explained in this section.
14944 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14945 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14946 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14949 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14950 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14951 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14953 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14954 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14955 ; a UW server running on localhost
14957 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14958 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14959 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14960 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14961 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14962 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14963 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14964 (nnimap-stream network))
14965 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14967 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14968 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14969 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14972 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14977 @item nnimap-address
14978 @vindex nnimap-address
14980 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14981 server name if not specified.
14983 @item nnimap-server-port
14984 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14985 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14987 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14990 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14991 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14994 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14995 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14996 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14997 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14998 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14999 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15000 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15002 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15003 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15004 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15007 Example server specification:
15010 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15011 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15012 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15015 @item nnimap-stream
15016 @vindex nnimap-stream
15017 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15018 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15019 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15020 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15022 Example server specification:
15025 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15026 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15029 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15033 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15034 @samp{imtest} program.
15036 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15038 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15039 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15042 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15043 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15044 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15046 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15048 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15051 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15052 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15053 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15054 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15055 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15056 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15057 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15058 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15059 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15062 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15063 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15064 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15065 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15066 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15067 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15068 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15069 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15070 distribution, for instance).
15072 @vindex imap-shell-program
15073 @vindex imap-shell-host
15074 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15075 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15077 @item nnimap-authenticator
15078 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15080 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15081 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15083 Example server specification:
15086 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15087 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15090 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15094 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15095 external program @code{imtest}.
15097 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15100 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15101 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15103 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15105 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15107 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15110 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15112 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15113 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15114 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15115 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15116 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15117 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15120 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15121 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15122 running in circles yet?
15124 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15125 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15128 The possible options are:
15133 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15136 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15137 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15138 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15139 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15141 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15146 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15147 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15149 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15150 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15151 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15152 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15153 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15156 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15157 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15160 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15161 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15162 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15163 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15166 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15167 as ticked for other users.
15169 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15171 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15173 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15174 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15175 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15176 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15178 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15179 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15180 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15181 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15183 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15184 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15186 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15187 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15188 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15194 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15195 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15196 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15197 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15202 @node Splitting in IMAP
15203 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15204 @cindex splitting imap mail
15206 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15207 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15208 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15209 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15210 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15214 Here are the variables of interest:
15218 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15219 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15221 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15223 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15224 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15226 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15228 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15229 @cindex splitting, inbox
15231 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15233 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15234 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15238 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15239 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15242 No nnmail equivalent.
15244 @item nnimap-split-rule
15245 @cindex Splitting, rules
15246 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15248 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15251 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15252 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15253 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15254 Neither did I, we need examples.
15257 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15259 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15260 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15261 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15264 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15265 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15266 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15268 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15269 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15273 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15276 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15277 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15279 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15280 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15281 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15282 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15284 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15285 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15286 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15287 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15288 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15289 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15291 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15292 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15293 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15295 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15296 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15297 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15299 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15301 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15302 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15303 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15306 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15307 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15308 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15309 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15310 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15311 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15314 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15315 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15316 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15317 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15318 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15319 group/function elements.
15321 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15323 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15325 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15327 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15328 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15330 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15331 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15332 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15335 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15336 @cindex splitting, fancy
15337 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15338 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15340 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15341 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15342 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15344 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15345 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15346 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15347 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15352 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15353 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15356 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15360 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15361 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15362 @cindex editing imap acls
15363 @cindex Access Control Lists
15364 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15366 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15368 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15369 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15370 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15373 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15374 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15375 editing window with detailed instructions.
15377 Some possible uses:
15381 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15382 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15383 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15385 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15386 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15387 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15391 @node Expunging mailboxes
15392 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15396 @cindex Manual expunging
15398 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15400 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15401 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15402 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15404 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15407 @node A note on namespaces
15408 @subsection A note on namespaces
15409 @cindex IMAP namespace
15412 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15413 following text in the RFC:
15416 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15418 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15419 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15420 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15421 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15423 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15424 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15425 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15426 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15427 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15428 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15431 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15432 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15433 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15435 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15436 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15437 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15438 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15439 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15440 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15441 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15442 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15444 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15445 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15446 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15448 @node Other Sources
15449 @section Other Sources
15451 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15452 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15456 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15457 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15458 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15459 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15460 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15464 @node Directory Groups
15465 @subsection Directory Groups
15467 @cindex directory groups
15469 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15470 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15473 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15474 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15475 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15476 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15478 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15479 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15480 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15481 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15482 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15484 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15486 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15487 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15488 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15489 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15492 @node Anything Groups
15493 @subsection Anything Groups
15496 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15497 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15498 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15501 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15502 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15503 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15504 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15505 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15506 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15507 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15508 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15509 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15510 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15513 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15514 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15515 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15516 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15518 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15519 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15520 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15521 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15523 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15524 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15525 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15526 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15527 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15528 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15529 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15530 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15535 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15536 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15537 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15538 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15540 @item nneething-exclude-files
15541 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15542 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15543 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15545 @item nneething-include-files
15546 @vindex nneething-include-files
15547 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15548 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15550 @item nneething-map-file
15551 @vindex nneething-map-file
15552 Name of the map files.
15556 @node Document Groups
15557 @subsection Document Groups
15559 @cindex documentation group
15562 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15563 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15570 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15575 The standard Unix mbox file.
15577 @cindex MMDF mail box
15579 The MMDF mail box format.
15582 Several news articles appended into a file.
15585 @cindex rnews batch files
15586 The rnews batch transport format.
15587 @cindex forwarded messages
15590 Forwarded articles.
15593 Netscape mail boxes.
15596 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15598 @item standard-digest
15599 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15602 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15604 @item lanl-gov-announce
15605 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15607 @item rfc822-forward
15608 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15611 The Outlook mail box.
15614 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15617 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15620 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15623 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15629 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15632 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15638 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15639 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15640 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15643 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15644 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15645 group. And that's it.
15647 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15648 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15649 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15650 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15651 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15652 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15653 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15654 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15655 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15656 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15658 Virtual server variables:
15661 @item nndoc-article-type
15662 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15663 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15664 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15665 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15666 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15667 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15669 @item nndoc-post-type
15670 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15671 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15672 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15677 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15681 @node Document Server Internals
15682 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15684 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15685 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15686 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15687 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15689 First, here's an example document type definition:
15693 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15694 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15697 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15698 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15699 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15700 types can be defined with very few settings:
15703 @item first-article
15704 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15705 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15708 @item article-begin
15709 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15710 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15712 @item head-begin-function
15713 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15716 @item nndoc-head-begin
15717 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15720 @item nndoc-head-end
15721 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15722 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15724 @item body-begin-function
15725 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15729 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15732 @item body-end-function
15733 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15737 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15740 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15741 regexp will be totally ignored.
15745 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15746 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15747 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15748 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15749 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15752 @item prepare-body-function
15753 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15754 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15755 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15757 @item article-transform-function
15758 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15759 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15760 body of the article.
15762 @item generate-head-function
15763 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15764 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15765 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15766 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15770 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15775 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15776 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15777 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15778 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15779 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15780 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15781 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15782 (subtype digest guess))
15785 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15786 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15787 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15788 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15789 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15791 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15792 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15793 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15794 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15795 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
15796 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15797 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15798 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15799 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15800 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15808 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15809 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15810 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15812 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15813 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15814 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15817 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15818 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15819 that interested in doing things properly.
15821 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15822 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15825 First some terminology:
15830 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15831 get news and/or mail from.
15834 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15835 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15838 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15842 @item message packets
15843 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15844 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15845 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15847 @item response packets
15848 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15849 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15850 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15860 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15861 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15862 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15863 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15866 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15869 You put the packet in your home directory.
15872 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15873 the native or secondary server.
15876 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15877 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15880 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15884 You transfer this packet to the server.
15887 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15890 You then repeat until you die.
15894 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15895 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15898 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15899 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15900 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15904 @node SOUP Commands
15905 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15907 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15911 @kindex G s b (Group)
15912 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15913 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15914 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15915 process/prefix convention.
15918 @kindex G s w (Group)
15919 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15920 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15923 @kindex G s s (Group)
15924 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15925 Send all replies from the replies packet
15926 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15929 @kindex G s p (Group)
15930 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15931 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15934 @kindex G s r (Group)
15935 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15936 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15939 @kindex O s (Summary)
15940 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15941 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15942 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15943 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15948 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15953 @item gnus-soup-directory
15954 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15955 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15956 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15958 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15959 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15960 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15961 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15963 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15964 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15965 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15966 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15968 @item gnus-soup-packer
15969 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15970 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15971 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15973 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15974 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15975 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15976 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15978 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15979 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15980 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15982 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15983 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15984 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15985 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15991 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15994 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15995 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15996 you can read them at leisure.
15998 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16002 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16003 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16004 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16005 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16007 @item nnsoup-directory
16008 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16009 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16010 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16012 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16013 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16014 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16015 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16017 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16018 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16019 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16020 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16021 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16023 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16024 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16025 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16026 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16028 @item nnsoup-active-file
16029 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16030 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16031 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16032 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16033 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16035 @item nnsoup-packer
16036 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16037 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16038 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16040 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16041 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16042 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16043 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16045 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16046 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16047 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16050 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16051 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16052 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16055 @item nnsoup-always-save
16056 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16057 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16063 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16065 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16066 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16067 more for that to happen.
16069 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16070 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16071 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16074 In specific, this is what it does:
16077 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16078 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16081 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16082 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16083 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16086 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16087 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16088 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16091 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16092 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16093 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16095 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16101 @item nngateway-address
16102 @vindex nngateway-address
16103 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16105 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16106 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16107 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16108 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16109 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16110 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16111 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16114 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16115 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16116 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16119 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16122 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16125 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16128 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16130 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16133 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16134 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16135 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16137 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16139 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16140 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16141 @code{nngateway-address}.
16146 (setq gnus-post-method
16148 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16149 (nngateway-header-transformation
16150 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16158 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16161 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16166 @node Combined Groups
16167 @section Combined Groups
16169 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16173 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16174 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16178 @node Virtual Groups
16179 @subsection Virtual Groups
16181 @cindex virtual groups
16182 @cindex merging groups
16184 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16187 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16188 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16189 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16191 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16192 regexp to match component groups.
16194 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16195 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16196 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16197 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16198 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16199 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16200 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16201 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16203 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16204 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16207 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16210 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16211 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16213 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16214 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16215 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16216 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16219 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16222 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16223 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16224 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16226 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16227 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16228 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16229 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16230 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16232 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16233 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16234 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16236 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16237 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16238 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16239 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16240 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16241 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16242 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16243 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16244 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16245 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16246 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16248 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16249 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16250 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16251 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16252 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16253 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16254 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16256 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16257 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16259 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16260 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16264 @node Kibozed Groups
16265 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16269 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16270 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16271 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16272 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16274 @kindex G k (Group)
16275 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16278 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16279 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16280 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16281 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16283 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16284 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16285 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16287 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16288 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16289 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16290 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16291 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16292 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16293 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16294 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16296 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16297 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16298 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16299 Stranger things have happened.
16301 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16302 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16304 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16305 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16306 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16307 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16308 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16309 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16311 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16312 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16315 @node Gnus Unplugged
16316 @section Gnus Unplugged
16321 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16323 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16324 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16325 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16326 read news. Believe it or not.
16328 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16329 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16330 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16331 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16332 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16334 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16335 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16336 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16337 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16338 reading news on a machine.
16340 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16341 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16343 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16346 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16347 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16348 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16349 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16350 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16351 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16352 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16353 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16354 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16355 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16356 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16361 @subsection Agent Basics
16363 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16365 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16366 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16367 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16368 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16370 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16371 connected to the net continuously.
16373 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16374 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16376 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16381 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16382 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16383 already fetched while in this mode.
16386 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16387 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16388 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16389 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16390 Source Specifiers}).
16393 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16394 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16395 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16396 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16397 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16400 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16401 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16402 then you read the news offline.
16405 And then you go to step 2.
16408 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16414 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16415 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16416 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16417 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16418 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16419 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16420 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16421 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16424 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16431 @node Agent Categories
16432 @subsection Agent Categories
16434 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16435 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16436 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16437 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16438 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16439 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16440 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16442 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16443 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16444 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16445 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16446 managing categories.
16449 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16450 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16451 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16455 @node Category Syntax
16456 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16458 A category consists of two things.
16462 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16463 are eligible for downloading; and
16466 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16467 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16468 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16471 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16472 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16473 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16474 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16476 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16477 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16478 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16480 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16481 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16482 operators sprinkled in between.
16484 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16486 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16487 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16493 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16494 short (for some value of ``short'').
16496 Here's a more complex predicate:
16505 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16506 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16509 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16510 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16511 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16513 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16514 you want to do, you can write your own.
16518 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16519 lines; default 100.
16522 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16523 lines; default 200.
16526 True iff the article has a download score less than
16527 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16530 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16531 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16534 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16535 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16536 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16545 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16546 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16547 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16550 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16551 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16552 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16553 something along the lines of the following:
16556 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16557 "Say whether an article is old."
16558 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16559 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16562 with the predicate then defined as:
16565 (not my-article-old-p)
16568 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16569 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16573 (require 'gnus-agent)
16574 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16575 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16576 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16579 and simply specify your predicate as:
16585 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16586 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16587 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16588 just don't give a damn.
16590 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16591 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16592 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16593 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16594 parameters like so:
16597 (agent-predicate . short)
16600 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16601 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16602 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16604 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16607 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16610 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16611 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16612 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16615 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16616 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16617 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16618 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16619 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16620 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16622 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16623 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16624 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16625 if it's to be specific to that group.
16627 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16634 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16635 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16641 Category specification
16645 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16651 Group Parameter specification
16654 (agent-score ("from"
16655 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16660 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16666 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16673 Category specification
16676 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16682 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16686 Group Parameter specification
16689 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16692 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16697 Use @code{normal} score files
16699 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16700 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16701 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16702 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16704 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16705 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16706 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16707 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16711 Category Specification
16718 Group Parameter specification
16721 (agent-score . file)
16726 @node Category Buffer
16727 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16729 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16730 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16731 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16733 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16737 @kindex q (Category)
16738 @findex gnus-category-exit
16739 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16742 @kindex k (Category)
16743 @findex gnus-category-kill
16744 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16747 @kindex c (Category)
16748 @findex gnus-category-copy
16749 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16752 @kindex a (Category)
16753 @findex gnus-category-add
16754 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16757 @kindex p (Category)
16758 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16759 Edit the predicate of the current category
16760 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16763 @kindex g (Category)
16764 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16765 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16766 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16769 @kindex s (Category)
16770 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16771 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16772 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16775 @kindex l (Category)
16776 @findex gnus-category-list
16777 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16781 @node Category Variables
16782 @subsubsection Category Variables
16785 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16786 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16787 Hook run in category buffers.
16789 @item gnus-category-line-format
16790 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16791 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16792 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16796 The name of the category.
16799 The number of groups in the category.
16802 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16803 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16804 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16806 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16807 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16808 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16810 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16811 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16812 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16814 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16815 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16816 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16819 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16820 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16821 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16827 @node Agent Commands
16828 @subsection Agent Commands
16830 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16831 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16832 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16836 * Group Agent Commands::
16837 * Summary Agent Commands::
16838 * Server Agent Commands::
16841 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16842 following incantation:
16844 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16846 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16851 @node Group Agent Commands
16852 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16856 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16857 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16858 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16859 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16862 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16863 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16864 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16867 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16868 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16869 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16870 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16873 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16874 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16875 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16876 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16879 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16880 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16881 Add the current group to an Agent category
16882 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16883 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16886 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16887 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16888 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16889 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16890 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16893 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16894 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16895 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16901 @node Summary Agent Commands
16902 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16906 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16907 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16908 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16911 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16912 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16913 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16914 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16917 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16918 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16919 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16922 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16923 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16924 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16927 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16928 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16929 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16930 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16935 @node Server Agent Commands
16936 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16940 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16941 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16942 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16943 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16946 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16947 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16948 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16949 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16954 @node Agent as Cache
16955 @subsection Agent as Cache
16957 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16958 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16959 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16960 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16961 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16962 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16963 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16964 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16965 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16967 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16968 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16971 @subsection Agent Expiry
16973 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16974 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16975 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16976 @cindex Agent expiry
16977 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16980 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16981 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16982 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16983 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16984 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16985 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16987 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16988 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16989 expiry in different groups.
16992 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16998 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16999 method---it must always match all groups.
17001 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17002 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17003 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17004 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17005 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17007 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17008 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17009 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17010 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17012 @node Agent and IMAP
17013 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17015 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17016 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17017 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17018 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17020 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17021 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17022 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17023 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17025 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17026 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17027 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17028 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17030 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17031 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17032 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17033 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17034 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17035 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17037 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17038 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17039 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17040 in the group buffer.
17042 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17043 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17048 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17051 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17055 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17056 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17057 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17058 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17059 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17060 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17061 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17062 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17065 @node Outgoing Messages
17066 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17068 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17069 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17070 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17072 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17073 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17074 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17075 messages in the draft group.
17079 @node Agent Variables
17080 @subsection Agent Variables
17083 @item gnus-agent-directory
17084 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17085 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17086 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17088 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17089 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17090 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17091 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17092 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17095 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17096 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17097 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17099 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17100 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17101 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17103 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17104 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17105 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17107 @item gnus-agent-cache
17108 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17109 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17110 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17111 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17113 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17114 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17115 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17116 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17117 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17118 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17119 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17122 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17123 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17124 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17125 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17126 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17127 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17128 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17129 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17130 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17135 @node Example Setup
17136 @subsection Example Setup
17138 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17139 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17140 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17143 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17144 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17145 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17147 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17148 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17149 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17151 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17152 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17154 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17155 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17156 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17159 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17160 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17163 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17164 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17165 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17166 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17167 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17170 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17171 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17172 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17173 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17174 back all the killed groups.)
17176 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17177 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17178 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17181 @node Batching Agents
17182 @subsection Batching Agents
17184 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17185 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17186 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17190 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17194 @node Agent Caveats
17195 @subsection Agent Caveats
17197 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17198 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17202 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17206 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17208 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17212 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17213 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17214 locally stored articles.
17221 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17222 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17223 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17226 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17227 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17228 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17229 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17230 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17232 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17233 before generating the summary buffer.
17235 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17236 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17237 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17239 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17240 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17241 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17242 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17245 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17246 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17247 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17248 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17249 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17250 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17251 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17252 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17253 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17254 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17255 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17256 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17257 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17258 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17259 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17260 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17261 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17265 @node Summary Score Commands
17266 @section Summary Score Commands
17267 @cindex score commands
17269 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17270 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17271 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17272 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17273 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17275 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17276 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17277 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17278 score file the current one.
17280 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17285 @kindex V s (Summary)
17286 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17287 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17290 @kindex V S (Summary)
17291 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17292 Display the score of the current article
17293 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17296 @kindex V t (Summary)
17297 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17298 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17299 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17302 @kindex V w (Summary)
17303 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17304 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17307 @kindex V R (Summary)
17308 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17309 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17310 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17311 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17312 effect you're having.
17315 @kindex V c (Summary)
17316 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17317 Make a different score file the current
17318 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17321 @kindex V e (Summary)
17322 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17323 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17324 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17328 @kindex V f (Summary)
17329 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17330 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17331 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17334 @kindex V F (Summary)
17335 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17336 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17337 after editing score files.
17340 @kindex V C (Summary)
17341 @findex gnus-score-customize
17342 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17343 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17347 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17352 @kindex V m (Summary)
17353 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17354 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17355 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17358 @kindex V x (Summary)
17359 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17360 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17361 expunge all articles below this score
17362 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17365 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17366 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17369 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17370 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17374 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17375 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17377 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17378 keys are available:
17382 Score on the author name.
17385 Score on the subject line.
17388 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17391 Score on the @code{References} line.
17397 Score on the number of lines.
17400 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17403 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17404 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17407 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17408 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17409 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17418 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17424 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17425 what headers you are scoring on.
17437 Substring matching.
17440 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17469 Greater than number.
17474 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17475 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17476 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17481 Temporary score entry.
17484 Permanent score entry.
17487 Immediately scoring.
17491 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17492 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17493 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17497 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17498 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17499 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17500 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17502 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17503 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17504 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17505 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17506 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17508 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17509 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17510 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17511 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17512 current score file.
17514 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17515 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17516 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17519 @node Group Score Commands
17520 @section Group Score Commands
17521 @cindex group score commands
17523 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17528 @kindex W f (Group)
17529 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17530 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17531 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17532 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17536 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17538 @findex gnus-batch-score
17539 @cindex batch scoring
17541 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17545 @node Score Variables
17546 @section Score Variables
17547 @cindex score variables
17551 @item gnus-use-scoring
17552 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17553 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17554 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17556 @item gnus-kill-killed
17557 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17558 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17559 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17560 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17561 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17562 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17563 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17565 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17566 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17567 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17568 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17569 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17571 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17572 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17573 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17574 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17576 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17577 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17578 @cindex score cache
17579 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17580 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17581 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
17582 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17583 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17584 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17587 @item gnus-save-score
17588 @vindex gnus-save-score
17589 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17590 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17591 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17593 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17594 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17595 across group visits.
17597 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17598 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17599 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17600 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17601 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17602 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17603 manually entered data.
17605 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17606 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17607 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17609 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17610 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17611 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17612 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17613 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17614 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17616 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17617 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17618 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17619 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17621 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17622 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17623 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17624 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17626 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17627 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17628 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17629 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17631 Predefined functions available are:
17634 @item gnus-score-find-single
17635 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17636 Only apply the group's own score file.
17638 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17639 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17640 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17641 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17642 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17643 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17644 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17645 then a regexp match is done.
17647 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17648 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17650 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17651 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17652 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17653 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17655 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17656 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17657 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17658 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17659 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17663 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17664 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17665 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17666 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17667 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17668 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17669 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17672 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17673 overall score file, you could use the value
17675 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17676 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17679 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17680 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17681 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17682 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17683 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17685 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17686 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17687 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17688 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17689 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17690 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17691 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17692 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17694 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17695 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17696 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17698 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17699 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17700 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17701 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17702 threading---according to the current value of
17703 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17704 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17705 simplified in this manner.
17710 @node Score File Format
17711 @section Score File Format
17712 @cindex score file format
17714 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17715 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17716 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17718 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17722 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17724 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17726 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17728 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17733 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17737 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17738 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17739 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17740 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17744 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17745 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17747 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17748 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17749 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17751 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17756 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17757 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17758 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17759 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17760 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17761 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17762 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17763 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17764 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17765 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17766 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17767 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17768 to articles that matches these score entries.
17770 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17771 score entry has one to four elements.
17775 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17776 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17780 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17781 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17782 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17783 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17784 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17785 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17788 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17789 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17790 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17791 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17792 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17795 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17796 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17797 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17798 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17801 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17802 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17803 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17804 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17805 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17806 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17807 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17808 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17809 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17810 instead, if you feel like.
17813 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17814 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17815 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17816 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17817 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17818 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17821 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17825 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17826 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17828 These predicates are true if
17831 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17834 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17835 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17842 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17843 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17844 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17845 it's not. I think.)
17847 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17848 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17849 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17850 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17853 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17854 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17855 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17856 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17857 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17858 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17859 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17863 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17864 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17865 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17866 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17867 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17868 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17869 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17870 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17873 @item Head, Body, All
17874 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17878 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17879 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17880 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17881 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17882 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17883 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17884 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17888 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17889 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17890 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17891 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17892 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17893 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17894 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17895 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17896 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17897 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17898 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17902 @cindex Score File Atoms
17904 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17905 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17908 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17909 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17911 @item mark-and-expunge
17912 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17913 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17916 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17917 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17918 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17919 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17920 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17923 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17924 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17927 @item exclude-files
17928 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17929 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17933 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17934 ignored when handling global score files.
17937 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17938 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17939 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17940 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17943 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17944 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17945 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17946 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17948 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17952 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17955 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17956 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17957 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17958 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17959 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17961 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17962 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17963 scoring rules exist.
17966 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17967 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17968 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17969 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17970 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17971 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17972 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17973 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17974 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17975 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17976 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17980 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17981 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17982 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17983 file for a number of groups.
17986 @cindex local variables
17987 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17988 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17989 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17990 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17991 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17995 @node Score File Editing
17996 @section Score File Editing
17998 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17999 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18000 with a mode for that.
18002 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18003 additional commands:
18008 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18009 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18010 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18011 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18014 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18015 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18016 Insert the current date in numerical format
18017 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18018 you were wondering.
18021 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18022 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18023 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18024 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18025 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18030 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18032 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18033 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18035 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18036 e} to begin editing score files.
18039 @node Adaptive Scoring
18040 @section Adaptive Scoring
18041 @cindex adaptive scoring
18043 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18044 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18045 stupidity, to be precise.
18047 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18048 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18049 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18050 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18051 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18052 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18053 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18054 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18055 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18057 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18058 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18059 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18060 might look something like this:
18063 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18064 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18065 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18066 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18067 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18068 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18069 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18070 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18071 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18072 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18073 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18074 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18077 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18078 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18079 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18080 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18081 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18082 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18085 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18086 will be applied to each article.
18088 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18089 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18090 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18091 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18093 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18094 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18095 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18096 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18098 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18099 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18100 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18101 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18103 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18104 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18105 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18106 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18107 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18108 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18110 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18111 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18112 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18113 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18114 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18115 aspirins afterwards.)
18117 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18118 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18119 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18121 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18122 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18123 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18125 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18126 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18127 let you use different rules in different groups.
18129 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18130 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18131 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18134 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18135 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18136 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18137 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18138 the length of the match is less than
18139 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18140 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18143 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18144 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18145 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18146 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18147 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18150 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18151 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18152 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18153 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18154 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18157 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18158 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18159 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18160 score with 30 points.
18162 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18163 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18164 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18165 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18166 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18168 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18169 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18170 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18171 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18172 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18174 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18175 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18176 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18177 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18179 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18180 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18181 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18182 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18184 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18185 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18186 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18187 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18188 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18190 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18191 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18192 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18194 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18195 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18196 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18197 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18200 @node Home Score File
18201 @section Home Score File
18203 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18204 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18205 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18206 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18208 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18209 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18210 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18212 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18213 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18218 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18222 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18223 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18227 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18231 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18232 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18235 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18236 the home score file.
18239 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18242 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18247 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18250 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18251 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18254 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18255 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18257 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18259 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18260 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18263 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18264 Other functions include
18267 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18268 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18269 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18270 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18274 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18275 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18276 their own home score files:
18279 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18280 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18281 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18282 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18283 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18286 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18287 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18288 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18289 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18290 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18292 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18293 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18294 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18295 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18296 precedence over this variable.
18299 @node Followups To Yourself
18300 @section Followups To Yourself
18302 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18303 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18304 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18305 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18306 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18307 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18311 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18312 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18313 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18316 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18317 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18318 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18322 @vindex message-sent-hook
18323 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18324 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18326 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18330 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18331 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18335 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18336 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18339 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18340 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18345 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18349 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18350 is system-dependent.
18353 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18354 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18355 @cindex scoring on other headers
18357 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18358 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18359 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18360 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18361 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18363 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18364 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18365 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18366 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18367 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18369 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18372 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18373 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18376 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18377 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18378 time if you have much mail.
18380 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18381 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18387 @section Scoring Tips
18388 @cindex scoring tips
18394 @cindex scoring crossposts
18395 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18396 the @code{Xref} header.
18398 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18401 @item Multiple crossposts
18402 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18403 more than, say, 3 groups:
18406 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18410 @item Matching on the body
18411 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18412 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18413 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18414 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18415 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18416 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18417 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18420 @item Marking as read
18421 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18422 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18423 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18427 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18429 @item Negated character classes
18430 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18431 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18432 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18436 @node Reverse Scoring
18437 @section Reverse Scoring
18438 @cindex reverse scoring
18440 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18441 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18442 like this in your score file:
18446 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18451 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18452 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18455 @node Global Score Files
18456 @section Global Score Files
18457 @cindex global score files
18459 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18460 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18461 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18463 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18464 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18465 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18467 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18468 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18469 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18470 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18471 files are applicable to which group.
18473 To use the score file
18474 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18475 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18479 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18480 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18481 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18484 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18486 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18487 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18488 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18489 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18491 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18492 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18494 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18495 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18496 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18497 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18498 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18499 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18501 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18507 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18509 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18511 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18513 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18514 lowered out of existence.
18516 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18517 articles completely.
18520 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18521 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18522 old articles for a long time.
18525 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18526 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18527 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18528 holding our breath yet?
18532 @section Kill Files
18535 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18536 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18537 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18539 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18540 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18541 files into score files.
18543 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18544 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18545 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18546 that isn't a very good idea.
18548 Normal kill files look like this:
18551 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18552 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18556 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18557 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18559 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18560 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18563 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18568 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18569 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18570 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18573 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18574 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18575 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18578 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18583 @kindex M-k (Group)
18584 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18585 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18588 @kindex M-K (Group)
18589 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18590 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18593 Kill file variables:
18596 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18597 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18598 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18599 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18600 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18601 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18602 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18604 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18605 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18606 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18607 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18610 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18611 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18612 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18613 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18614 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18615 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18616 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18617 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18618 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18620 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18621 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18622 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18627 @node Converting Kill Files
18628 @section Converting Kill Files
18630 @cindex converting kill files
18632 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18633 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18634 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18637 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18638 You can fetch it from
18639 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18641 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18642 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18643 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18651 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18652 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18653 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18654 news articles generated every day.
18656 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18657 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18658 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18659 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18660 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18661 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18662 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18663 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18666 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18667 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18670 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18671 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18672 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18673 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18677 @node Using GroupLens
18678 @subsection Using GroupLens
18680 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18682 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18683 better bit in town at the moment.
18685 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18689 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18690 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18691 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18692 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18694 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18695 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18696 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18697 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18699 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18700 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18701 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18705 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18706 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18707 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18708 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18709 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18710 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18713 @node Rating Articles
18714 @subsection Rating Articles
18716 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18717 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18718 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18719 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18722 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18727 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18728 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18729 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18732 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18733 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18734 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18735 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18736 threads in rec.humor.
18740 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18741 the score of the article you're reading.
18746 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18747 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18748 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18751 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18752 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18753 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18757 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18758 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18761 @node Displaying Predictions
18762 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18764 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18765 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18766 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18767 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18768 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18770 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18771 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18772 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18773 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18774 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18775 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18776 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18777 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18778 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18779 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18780 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18781 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18782 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18784 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18785 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18786 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18787 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18789 The following are valid values for that variable.
18792 @item prediction-spot
18793 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18796 @item confidence-interval
18797 A numeric confidence interval.
18799 @item prediction-bar
18800 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18802 @item confidence-bar
18803 Numerical confidence.
18805 @item confidence-spot
18806 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18808 @item prediction-num
18809 Plain-old numeric value.
18811 @item confidence-plus-minus
18812 Prediction +/- confidence.
18817 @node GroupLens Variables
18818 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18822 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18823 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18824 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18825 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18828 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18829 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18832 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18833 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18835 @item grouplens-score-offset
18836 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18837 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18840 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18841 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18842 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18847 @node Advanced Scoring
18848 @section Advanced Scoring
18850 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18851 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18852 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18853 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18854 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18856 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18860 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18861 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18862 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18866 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18867 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18869 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18870 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18871 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18872 non-@code{nil} value.
18874 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18875 operator, and various match operators.
18882 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18883 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18884 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18889 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18890 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18891 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18896 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18897 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18901 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18902 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18903 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18904 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18905 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18906 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18907 the ancestry you want to go.
18909 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18910 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18911 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18912 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18913 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18916 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18917 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18919 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18920 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18923 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18924 when he's talking about Gnus:
18928 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18929 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18935 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18939 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18946 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18947 really don't want to read what he's written:
18951 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18952 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18956 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18957 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18958 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18965 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18966 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18967 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18968 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18972 The possibilities are endless.
18975 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18976 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18978 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18979 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18980 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18981 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18982 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18983 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18984 @samp{subject}) first.
18986 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18987 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18998 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18999 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19005 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19012 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19013 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19018 @section Score Decays
19019 @cindex score decays
19022 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19023 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19024 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19025 use them in any sensible way.
19027 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19028 @findex gnus-decay-score
19029 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19030 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19031 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19032 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19033 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19034 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19035 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19036 definition of that function:
19039 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19041 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19042 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19045 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19047 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19049 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19052 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19053 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19054 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19055 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19059 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19062 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19065 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19069 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19070 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19071 the new score, which should be an integer.
19073 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19074 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19079 @include message.texi
19080 @chapter Emacs MIME
19081 @include emacs-mime.texi
19083 @include sieve.texi
19093 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19094 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19095 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19096 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19097 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19098 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19099 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19100 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19101 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19102 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19103 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19104 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19105 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19106 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19107 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19108 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19109 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19110 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19111 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19115 @node Process/Prefix
19116 @section Process/Prefix
19117 @cindex process/prefix convention
19119 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19120 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19122 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19123 command to be performed on.
19127 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19128 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19129 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19130 with the current one.
19132 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19133 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19134 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19136 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19137 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19140 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19141 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19143 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19146 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19147 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19148 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19149 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19151 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19152 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19153 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19154 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19155 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19156 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19157 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19158 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19160 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19161 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19162 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19163 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19164 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19168 @section Interactive
19169 @cindex interaction
19173 @item gnus-novice-user
19174 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19175 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19176 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19177 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19178 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19181 @item gnus-expert-user
19182 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19183 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19184 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19185 matter how strange.
19187 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19188 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19189 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19190 is @code{t} by default.
19192 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19193 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19194 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19199 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19200 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19201 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19203 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19204 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19205 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19206 rule of 900 to the current article.
19208 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19209 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19210 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19211 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19212 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19213 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19214 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19216 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19217 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19218 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19219 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19220 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19221 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19222 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19223 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19224 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19226 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19227 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19228 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19230 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19234 @node Formatting Variables
19235 @section Formatting Variables
19236 @cindex formatting variables
19238 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19239 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19240 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19241 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19242 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19245 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19246 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19247 lots of percentages everywhere.
19250 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19251 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19252 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19253 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19254 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19255 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19256 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19257 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19260 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19261 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19262 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19263 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19264 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19265 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19266 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19267 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19269 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19270 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19272 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19273 @findex gnus-update-format
19274 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19275 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19276 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19277 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19281 @node Formatting Basics
19282 @subsection Formatting Basics
19284 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19285 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19286 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19288 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19289 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19290 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19291 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19292 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19295 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19296 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19297 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19298 less than 4 characters wide.
19300 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19301 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19304 @node Mode Line Formatting
19305 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19307 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19308 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19309 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19310 with the following two differences:
19315 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19318 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19319 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19320 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19321 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19322 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19323 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19324 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19329 @node Advanced Formatting
19330 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19332 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19333 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19334 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19335 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19337 These are the valid modifiers:
19342 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19346 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19351 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19354 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19359 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19362 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19365 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19368 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19374 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19379 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19380 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19381 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19382 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19383 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19384 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19385 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19387 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19388 last operation, padding.
19390 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19391 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19392 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19393 @xref{Compilation}.
19396 @node User-Defined Specs
19397 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19399 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19400 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19401 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19402 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19403 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19404 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19405 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19406 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19407 should protect against that.
19409 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19410 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19412 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19413 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19414 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19415 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19419 @node Formatting Fonts
19420 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19422 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19423 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19424 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19425 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19428 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19429 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19430 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19431 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19432 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19433 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19435 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19436 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19437 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19438 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19439 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19440 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19441 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19442 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19443 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19444 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19446 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19449 ;; Create three face types.
19450 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19451 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19453 ;; We want the article count to be in
19454 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19455 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19456 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19458 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19459 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19461 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19462 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19463 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19466 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19467 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19469 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19470 mode-line variables.
19472 @node Positioning Point
19473 @subsection Positioning Point
19475 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19476 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19477 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19479 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19481 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19482 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19483 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19485 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19486 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19487 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19492 @subsection Tabulation
19494 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19495 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19496 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19497 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19499 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19500 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19502 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19503 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19504 This is the soft tabulator.
19506 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19507 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19508 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19511 @node Wide Characters
19512 @subsection Wide Characters
19514 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19515 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19516 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19518 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19519 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19520 these coutries, that's not true.
19522 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19523 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19524 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19525 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19529 @node Window Layout
19530 @section Window Layout
19531 @cindex window layout
19533 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19535 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19536 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19537 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19538 @code{t} by default.
19540 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19541 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19543 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19544 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19545 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19548 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19549 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19550 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19554 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19555 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19556 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19557 possible names is listed below.
19559 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19560 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19563 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19567 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19568 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19569 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19570 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19571 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19572 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19573 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19574 size spec per split.
19576 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19577 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19578 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19579 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19580 present) gets focus.
19582 Here's a more complicated example:
19585 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19586 (summary 0.25 point)
19587 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19591 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19592 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19593 occupy, not a percentage.
19595 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19596 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19597 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19598 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19599 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19602 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19605 (article (horizontal 1.0
19610 (summary 0.25 point)
19615 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19616 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19618 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19619 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19620 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19621 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19622 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19624 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19625 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19626 lines from the splits.
19628 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19632 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19633 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19634 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19635 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19636 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19637 size = number | frame-params
19638 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19641 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19642 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19643 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19644 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19646 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19647 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19648 @cindex window height
19649 @cindex window width
19650 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19651 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19652 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19653 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19654 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19655 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19657 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19658 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19659 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19660 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19662 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19663 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19664 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19665 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19666 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19667 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19668 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19669 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19670 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19671 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19672 configuration list.
19675 (gnus-configure-frame
19679 (article 0.3 point))
19687 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19688 @code{frame} split:
19691 (gnus-configure-frame
19694 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19696 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19697 (user-position . t)
19698 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19703 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19704 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19705 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19706 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19707 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19708 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19709 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19710 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19712 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19713 be found in its default value.
19715 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19716 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19717 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19721 (message (horizontal 1.0
19722 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19724 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19729 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19730 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19731 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19736 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19737 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19738 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19739 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19740 (name . "Message"))
19741 (message 1.0 point))))
19744 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19745 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19746 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19747 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19748 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19751 (gnus-add-configuration
19752 '(article (vertical 1.0
19754 (summary .25 point)
19758 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19759 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19760 Gnus has been loaded.
19762 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19763 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19764 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19765 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19766 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19768 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19769 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19770 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19773 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19777 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19778 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19793 (gnus-add-configuration
19796 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19798 (summary 0.16 point)
19801 (gnus-add-configuration
19804 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19805 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19811 @node Faces and Fonts
19812 @section Faces and Fonts
19817 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19818 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19819 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19824 @section Compilation
19825 @cindex compilation
19826 @cindex byte-compilation
19828 @findex gnus-compile
19830 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19831 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19832 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19833 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19834 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19835 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19838 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19839 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19840 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19841 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19842 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19843 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19844 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19848 @section Mode Lines
19851 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19852 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19853 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19854 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19855 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19856 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19857 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19860 @cindex display-time
19862 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19863 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19864 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19865 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19866 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19867 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19868 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19869 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19872 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19874 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19875 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19877 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19878 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19879 (length display-time-string)))))
19882 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19883 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19884 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19885 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19886 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19889 @node Highlighting and Menus
19890 @section Highlighting and Menus
19892 @cindex highlighting
19895 @vindex gnus-visual
19896 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19897 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19898 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19901 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19902 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19905 @item group-highlight
19906 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19907 @item summary-highlight
19908 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19909 @item article-highlight
19910 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19912 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19914 Create menus in the group buffer.
19916 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19918 Create menus in the article buffer.
19920 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19922 Create menus in the server buffer.
19924 Create menus in the score buffers.
19926 Create menus in all buffers.
19929 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19930 buffers, you could say something like:
19933 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19936 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19939 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19942 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19943 in all Gnus buffers.
19945 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19948 @item gnus-mouse-face
19949 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19950 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19951 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19955 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19959 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19960 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19961 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19963 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19964 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19965 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19967 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19968 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19969 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19971 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19972 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19973 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19975 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19976 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19977 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19979 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19980 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19981 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19992 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19993 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19994 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19995 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19996 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20000 @vindex gnus-carpal
20001 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20002 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20003 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20008 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20009 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20010 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20012 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20013 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20014 Face used on buttons.
20016 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20017 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20018 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20020 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20021 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20022 Buttons in the group buffer.
20024 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20025 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20026 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20028 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20029 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20030 Buttons in the server buffer.
20032 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20033 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20034 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20037 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20038 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20039 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20047 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20048 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20049 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20050 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20051 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20053 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20054 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20055 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20057 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20058 been idle for thirty minutes:
20061 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20064 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20068 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20071 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20072 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20073 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20075 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20076 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20077 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20078 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20080 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20081 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20082 @var{idle} minutes.
20084 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20085 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20088 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20089 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20090 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20092 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20093 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20094 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20095 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20097 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20098 your @file{.gnus} file:
20100 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20102 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20105 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20106 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20107 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20108 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20109 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20110 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20111 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20112 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20113 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20114 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20115 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20117 @findex gnus-demon-init
20118 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20119 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20120 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20121 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20122 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20124 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20125 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20126 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20135 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20136 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20138 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20139 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20140 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20141 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20144 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20145 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20146 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20147 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20149 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20150 this will make spam disappear.
20152 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20155 @item gnus-use-nocem
20156 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20157 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20160 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20161 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20162 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20163 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20164 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20166 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20167 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20168 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20169 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20170 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20171 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20173 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20174 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20176 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20177 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20178 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20179 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20180 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20181 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20182 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20183 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20184 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20185 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20187 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20188 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20191 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20194 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20195 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20198 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20201 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20204 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20205 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20207 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20208 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20209 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20210 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20212 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20213 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20216 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20218 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20226 This might be dangerous, though.
20228 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20229 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20230 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20231 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20233 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20234 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20235 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20236 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20237 might then see old spam.
20239 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20240 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20241 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20242 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20243 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20246 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20247 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20248 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20249 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20253 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20254 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20255 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20256 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20263 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20264 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20265 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20267 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20268 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20269 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20270 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20271 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20272 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20273 @code{undo} function.
20275 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20276 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20277 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20278 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20279 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20280 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20281 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20282 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20283 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20284 never be totally undoable.
20286 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20287 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20289 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20290 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20291 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20292 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20296 @node Predicate Specifiers
20297 @section Predicate Specifiers
20298 @cindex predicate specifiers
20300 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20301 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20302 to type all that much.
20304 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20309 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20310 gnus-article-unread-p)
20313 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20314 functions all take one parameter.
20316 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20317 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20318 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20319 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20324 @section Moderation
20327 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20328 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20329 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20332 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20336 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20339 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20341 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20346 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20347 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20348 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20351 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20352 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20355 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20356 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20360 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20363 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20364 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20368 @node Image Enhancements
20369 @section Image Enhancements
20371 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20372 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20375 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20376 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20377 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20378 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20379 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20392 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20393 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20394 over your shoulder as you read news.
20397 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20398 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20399 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20400 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20401 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20406 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20408 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20417 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20418 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20419 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20420 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20421 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20422 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20423 @code{GIF} formats.
20426 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20427 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20428 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20429 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20430 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20432 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20433 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20434 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20435 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20436 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20437 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20439 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20440 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20443 @node Picon Requirements
20444 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20446 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20447 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20448 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20449 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20451 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20452 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20453 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20454 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20455 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20456 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20459 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20461 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20462 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20465 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20466 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20469 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20470 containing the Picons databases.
20472 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20475 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20476 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20481 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20489 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20490 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20491 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20492 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20493 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20498 @item gnus-picons-database
20499 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20500 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20501 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20502 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20503 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20504 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20506 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20507 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20508 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20509 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20510 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20511 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20512 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20514 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20515 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20516 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20517 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20518 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20519 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20520 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20521 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20523 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20524 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20525 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20530 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20531 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20533 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20534 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20537 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20539 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20540 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20541 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20542 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20544 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20545 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20546 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20547 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20553 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20554 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20562 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20563 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20564 don't need to worry about.
20568 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20569 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20570 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20571 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20573 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20574 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20575 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20576 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20578 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20579 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20580 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20581 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20582 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20584 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20585 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20586 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20587 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20588 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20589 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20590 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20591 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20593 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20594 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20595 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20596 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20597 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20599 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20600 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20601 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20602 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20603 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20604 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20605 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20607 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20608 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20609 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20610 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20612 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20613 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20614 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20615 Defaults to @code{t}.
20617 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20618 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20619 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20620 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20622 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20623 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20624 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20626 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20627 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20628 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20629 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20631 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20632 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20634 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20635 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20636 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20637 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20638 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20639 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20640 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20641 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20652 @subsection Smileys
20657 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20662 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20663 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20665 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20666 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20669 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20672 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20673 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20674 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20675 text and maps that to file names.
20677 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20678 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20679 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20680 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20681 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20682 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20684 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20685 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20687 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20688 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20689 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20691 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20692 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20696 @item smiley-data-directory
20697 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20698 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20700 @item smiley-flesh-color
20701 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20702 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20704 @item smiley-features-color
20705 @vindex smiley-features-color
20706 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20708 @item smiley-tongue-color
20709 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20710 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20712 @item smiley-circle-color
20713 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20714 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20716 @item smiley-mouse-face
20717 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20718 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20727 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20728 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20729 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20733 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20734 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20735 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20736 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20744 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20745 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20746 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20747 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20749 The variable that controls this is the
20750 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20751 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20752 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20753 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20754 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20756 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20757 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20758 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20759 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20762 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20763 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20764 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20765 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20766 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20767 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20768 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20769 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20771 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20774 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20775 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20777 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20778 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20779 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20780 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20781 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20782 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20784 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20785 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20786 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20788 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20789 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20792 (setq message-required-news-headers
20793 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20794 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20797 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20800 (setq message-required-news-headers
20801 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20802 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20803 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20804 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20809 @subsection Toolbar
20819 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20820 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20821 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20822 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20823 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20825 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20826 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20827 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20829 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20830 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20831 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20833 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20834 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20835 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20841 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20844 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20845 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20846 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20847 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20848 unusual directory structure.
20850 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20851 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20852 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20853 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20855 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20856 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20857 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20858 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20859 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20860 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20862 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20863 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20864 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20878 @node Fuzzy Matching
20879 @section Fuzzy Matching
20880 @cindex fuzzy matching
20882 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20883 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20885 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20886 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20887 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20889 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20890 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20891 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20892 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20893 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20896 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20897 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20901 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20903 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20904 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20905 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20906 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20907 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20908 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20909 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20910 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20913 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20914 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20915 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20916 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20917 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20918 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20923 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20924 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20925 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20928 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20929 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20933 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20935 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20936 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20938 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20939 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20940 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20941 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20942 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20943 part of the mail address.)
20946 (setq message-default-news-headers
20947 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20950 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20951 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20956 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20957 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20958 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20964 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20965 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20966 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20967 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20969 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20970 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20971 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20972 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20973 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20974 your fancy split rule in this way:
20979 (to "larsi" "misc")
20983 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20984 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20985 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20986 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20987 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20989 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20990 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20991 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20992 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20993 cosmic balance somewhat.
20995 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20996 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20997 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20998 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21003 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21004 @cindex SpamAssassin
21005 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21008 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21009 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21010 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21011 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21012 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21013 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21014 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21016 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21017 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21018 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21019 Specifiers}) follows.
21023 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21026 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21029 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21030 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21031 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21034 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21038 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21041 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21042 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21046 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21047 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21048 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21049 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21052 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21054 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21056 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21057 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21059 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21061 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21062 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21066 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21067 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21068 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21071 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21072 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21074 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21075 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21076 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21080 @subsection Hashcash
21083 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21084 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21085 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21086 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21087 in smaller communities.
21089 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21090 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21091 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21092 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21093 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21094 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21095 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21096 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21097 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21098 one of them separately.
21101 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21102 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21103 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21104 header. For more details, and for the external application
21105 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21106 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21107 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21109 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21113 (require 'hashcash)
21114 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21117 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21118 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21119 development contrib directory.
21121 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21125 @item hashcash-default-payment
21126 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21127 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21128 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21129 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21131 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21132 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21133 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21134 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21135 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21136 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21137 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21138 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21142 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21146 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21147 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21148 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21149 a useful contribution, however.
21151 @node Various Various
21152 @section Various Various
21158 @item gnus-home-directory
21159 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21160 defaults to @file{~/}.
21162 @item gnus-directory
21163 @vindex gnus-directory
21164 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21165 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21166 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21168 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21169 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21170 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21171 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21173 @item gnus-default-directory
21174 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21175 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21176 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21177 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21178 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21179 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21180 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21183 @vindex gnus-verbose
21184 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21185 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21186 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21187 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21188 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21190 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21191 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21192 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21193 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21195 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21196 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21197 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21198 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21199 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21200 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21201 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21202 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21203 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21204 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21206 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21207 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21208 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21209 read when doing the operation described above.
21211 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21212 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21214 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21215 @cindex characters in file names
21216 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21217 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21218 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21221 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21225 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21226 Windows (phooey) systems.
21228 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21229 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21230 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21231 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21232 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21234 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21235 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21236 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21237 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21238 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21240 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21241 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21242 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21244 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21245 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21247 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21248 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21249 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21250 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21253 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21261 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21262 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21264 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21266 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21272 Not because of victories @*
21275 but for the common sunshine,@*
21277 the largess of the spring.
21281 but for the day's work done@*
21282 as well as I was able;@*
21283 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21284 but at the common table.@*
21289 @chapter Appendices
21292 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21293 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21294 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21295 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21296 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21297 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21298 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21299 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21300 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21307 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21309 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21310 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21311 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21312 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21313 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21320 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21321 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21323 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21324 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21325 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21326 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21327 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21329 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21330 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21331 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21332 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21333 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21334 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21336 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21337 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21338 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21339 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21342 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21343 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21344 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21345 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21346 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21347 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21348 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21349 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21350 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21354 @node Gnus Versions
21355 @subsection Gnus Versions
21357 @cindex September Gnus
21359 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21360 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21364 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21365 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21366 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21368 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21369 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21371 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21372 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21374 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21375 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21377 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21378 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21381 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21383 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21384 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21385 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21386 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21387 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21388 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21391 @node Other Gnus Versions
21392 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21395 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21396 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21397 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21398 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21400 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21401 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21402 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21403 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21410 What's the point of Gnus?
21412 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21413 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21414 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21415 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21416 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21417 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21418 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21419 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21420 keep track of millions of people who post?
21422 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21423 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21424 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21425 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21426 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21427 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21428 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21429 every one of you to explore and invent.
21431 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21432 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21435 @node Compatibility
21436 @subsection Compatibility
21438 @cindex compatibility
21439 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21440 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21441 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21446 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21450 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21453 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21456 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21457 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21458 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21459 important variables have their values copied into their global
21460 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21461 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21463 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21464 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21465 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21466 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21467 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21471 @cindex highlighting
21472 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21473 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21474 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21475 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21476 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21477 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21480 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21481 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21482 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21483 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21485 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21486 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21487 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21488 to stop doing it the old way.
21490 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21492 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21494 @cindex reporting bugs
21496 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21497 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21498 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21500 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21501 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21502 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21503 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21508 @subsection Conformity
21510 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21511 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21519 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21523 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21525 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21526 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21527 We do have some breaches to this one.
21533 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21534 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21535 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21536 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21537 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21542 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21543 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21544 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21545 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21547 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21549 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21551 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21552 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21554 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21557 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21558 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21559 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21560 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21561 decoding (verification and decryption).
21563 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21564 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21565 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21566 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21568 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21569 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21571 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21572 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21573 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21574 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21575 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21576 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21577 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21581 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21582 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21587 @subsection Emacsen
21593 Gnus should work on :
21601 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21605 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21606 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21609 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21610 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21611 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21615 @node Gnus Development
21616 @subsection Gnus Development
21618 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21619 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21620 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21621 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21622 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21623 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21624 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21625 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21627 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21628 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21629 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21630 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21631 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21634 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21635 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21636 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21637 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21638 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21640 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21641 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21642 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21643 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21644 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21645 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21646 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21647 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21648 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21649 can't be assumed to do so.
21654 @subsection Contributors
21655 @cindex contributors
21657 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21658 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21659 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21660 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21661 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21662 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21663 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21664 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21665 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21666 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21668 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21674 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21677 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21678 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21679 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21680 functionality and stuff.
21683 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21684 well as numerous other things).
21687 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21690 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21693 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21696 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21699 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21700 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21703 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21706 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21707 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21710 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21713 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21716 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21719 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21722 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21723 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21726 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21729 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21732 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21735 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21739 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21742 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21745 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21748 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21749 well as autoconf support.
21753 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21754 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21756 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21765 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21769 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21779 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21794 Massimo Campostrini,
21799 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21800 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21804 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21807 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21813 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21818 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21822 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21830 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21832 Michelangelo Grigni,
21836 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21838 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21840 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21847 François Felix Ingrand,
21848 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21849 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21851 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21862 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21863 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21865 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21866 Thor Kristoffersen,
21869 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21887 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21888 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21895 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21900 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21904 John McClary Prevost,
21910 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21915 Christian von Roques,
21918 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21925 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21927 Randal L. Schwartz,
21941 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21946 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21962 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21967 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21968 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21969 (550kB and counting).
21971 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21974 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21975 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21979 @subsection New Features
21980 @cindex new features
21983 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21984 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21985 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21986 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21987 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21990 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21991 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21992 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21995 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21997 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
22002 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
22003 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
22006 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
22007 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
22010 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
22013 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
22014 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
22015 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
22018 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
22019 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22020 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22021 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22024 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22025 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22028 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22029 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22030 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22033 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22034 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22037 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22038 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22039 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22042 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22043 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22044 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22047 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22048 the @file{.emacs} file.
22051 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22052 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22055 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22056 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22059 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22060 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22063 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22064 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22067 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22068 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22071 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22074 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22075 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22078 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22079 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22082 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22083 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22086 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22089 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22090 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22093 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22097 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22101 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22102 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22105 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22111 @node September Gnus
22112 @subsubsection September Gnus
22116 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22120 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22125 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22126 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22130 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22131 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22135 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22139 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22140 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22143 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22147 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22150 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22153 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22156 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22160 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22161 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22164 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22168 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22172 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22176 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22180 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22183 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22184 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22187 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22191 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22192 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22195 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22198 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22199 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22200 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22203 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22207 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22210 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22214 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22215 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22218 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22219 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22222 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22223 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22226 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22227 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22228 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22231 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22232 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22235 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22238 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22241 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22244 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22247 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22248 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22251 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22255 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22258 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22263 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22266 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22270 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22273 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22277 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22280 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22283 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22284 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22287 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22288 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22292 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22293 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22296 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22300 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22301 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22304 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22307 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22311 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22315 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22316 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22319 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22323 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22324 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22327 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22328 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22331 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22335 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22338 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22341 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22347 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22349 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22353 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22360 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22363 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22364 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22367 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22368 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22372 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22373 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22376 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22379 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22380 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22383 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22387 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22388 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22392 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22393 Server Internals}).
22396 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22400 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22403 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22404 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22407 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22408 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22409 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22412 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22413 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22416 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22417 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22420 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22424 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22425 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22428 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22429 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22432 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22436 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22439 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22443 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22444 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22447 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22448 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22451 A new command for reading collections of documents
22452 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22453 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22456 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22460 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22461 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22464 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22465 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22466 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22469 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22470 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22474 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22478 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22482 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22487 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22491 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22495 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22496 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22499 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22505 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22507 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22512 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22513 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22514 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22517 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22518 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22519 group, which is created automatically.
22522 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22526 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22529 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22530 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22533 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22537 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22540 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22541 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22544 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22547 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22548 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22551 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22552 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22555 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22556 control over simplification.
22559 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22562 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22566 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22569 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22572 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22573 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22574 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22577 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22578 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22581 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22585 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22586 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22589 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22590 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22593 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22597 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22600 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22603 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22604 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22607 A new function for citing in Message has been
22608 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22611 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22614 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22618 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22619 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22622 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22623 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22626 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22629 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22633 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22634 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22636 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22641 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22642 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22644 If you used procmail like in
22647 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22648 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22649 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22650 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22653 this now has changed to
22657 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22661 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22662 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22665 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22666 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22669 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22670 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22673 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22674 called to position point.
22677 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22678 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22681 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22682 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22685 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22686 subtly different manner.
22689 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22690 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22691 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22694 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22702 @section The Manual
22706 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22707 either @code{texi2dvi}
22709 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22710 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22712 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22714 The following conventions have been used:
22719 This is a @samp{string}
22722 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22725 This is a @file{file}
22728 This is a @code{symbol}
22732 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22736 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22739 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22742 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22745 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22746 ever get them confused.
22750 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22751 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22752 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22753 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22754 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22755 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22756 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22762 @node On Writing Manuals
22763 @section On Writing Manuals
22765 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22766 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22767 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22768 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22769 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22770 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22773 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22774 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22775 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22778 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22779 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22784 @section Terminology
22786 @cindex terminology
22791 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22792 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22793 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22794 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22795 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22799 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22800 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22801 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22802 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22806 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22810 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22815 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22816 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22817 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22818 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22819 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22820 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22821 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22822 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22823 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22825 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22826 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22827 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22828 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22829 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22832 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22833 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22834 access the articles.
22836 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22837 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22838 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22843 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22844 default, way of getting news.
22848 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22849 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22854 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22855 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22859 A message that has been posted as news.
22862 @cindex mail message
22863 A message that has been mailed.
22867 A mail message or news article
22871 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22876 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22881 A line from the head of an article.
22885 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22886 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22890 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22891 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22892 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22893 normal @sc{head} format.
22897 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22898 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22899 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22900 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22901 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22902 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22904 @item killed groups
22905 @cindex killed groups
22906 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22907 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22909 @item zombie groups
22910 @cindex zombie groups
22911 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22914 @cindex active file
22915 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22916 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22917 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22920 @cindex bogus groups
22921 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22922 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22923 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22926 @cindex activating groups
22927 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22928 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22929 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22933 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22935 @item select method
22936 @cindex select method
22937 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22940 @item virtual server
22941 @cindex virtual server
22942 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22943 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22944 whole is a virtual server.
22948 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22949 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22952 @item ephemeral groups
22953 @cindex ephemeral groups
22954 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22955 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22956 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22959 @cindex solid groups
22960 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22961 group buffer are solid groups.
22963 @item sparse articles
22964 @cindex sparse articles
22965 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22966 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22970 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22971 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22975 @cindex thread root
22976 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22977 articles in the thread.
22981 An article that has responses.
22985 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22989 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22990 specified by RFC 1153.
22996 @node Customization
22997 @section Customization
22998 @cindex general customization
23000 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
23001 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
23002 for some quite common situations.
23005 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
23006 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
23007 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
23008 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
23012 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
23013 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
23015 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
23016 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
23017 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23021 @item gnus-read-active-file
23022 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23023 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23024 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23025 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23026 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23028 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23029 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23030 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23031 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23035 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23036 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23038 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23039 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23040 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23044 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23045 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23046 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23047 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23048 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23050 @item gnus-visible-headers
23051 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23052 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23053 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23054 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23056 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23058 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23059 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23060 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23063 @item gnus-use-full-window
23064 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23065 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23066 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23067 want to read them anyway.
23069 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23070 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23074 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23075 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23076 lines, which might save some time.
23080 @node Little Disk Space
23081 @subsection Little Disk Space
23084 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23085 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23089 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23090 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23091 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23092 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23095 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23096 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23097 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23098 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23101 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23102 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23103 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23104 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23105 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23111 @subsection Slow Machine
23112 @cindex slow machine
23114 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23115 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23117 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23118 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23120 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23121 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23122 summary buffer faster.
23126 @node Troubleshooting
23127 @section Troubleshooting
23128 @cindex troubleshooting
23130 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23138 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23141 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23142 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23146 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23147 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23148 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23149 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23152 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23156 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23157 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23158 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23159 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23160 something like that.
23163 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23166 @cindex reporting bugs
23168 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23170 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23171 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23172 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23173 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23175 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23176 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23177 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23178 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23181 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23182 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23183 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23184 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23185 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23186 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23188 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23189 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23190 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23194 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23195 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23198 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23199 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23200 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23201 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23202 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23203 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23204 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23205 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23206 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23207 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23208 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23209 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23210 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23211 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23213 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23214 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23216 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23217 @cindex ding mailing list
23218 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23219 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23223 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23224 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23226 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23227 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23228 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23229 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23232 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23233 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23234 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23235 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23236 and general methods of operation.
23239 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23240 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23241 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23242 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23243 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23244 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23245 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23246 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23247 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23251 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23252 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23253 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23254 @cindex utility functions
23256 @cindex internal variables
23258 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23259 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23260 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23264 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23265 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23266 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23268 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23269 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23270 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23272 @item gnus-group-real-name
23273 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23274 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23277 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23278 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23279 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23280 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23282 @item gnus-get-info
23283 @findex gnus-get-info
23284 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23286 @item gnus-group-unread
23287 @findex gnus-group-unread
23288 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23292 @findex gnus-active
23293 The active entry for @var{group}.
23295 @item gnus-set-active
23296 @findex gnus-set-active
23297 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23299 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23300 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23301 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23304 @item gnus-continuum-version
23305 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23306 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23307 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23310 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23311 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23312 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23314 @item gnus-news-group-p
23315 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23316 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23318 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23319 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23320 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23322 @item gnus-server-to-method
23323 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23324 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23326 @item gnus-server-equal
23327 @findex gnus-server-equal
23328 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23330 @item gnus-group-native-p
23331 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23332 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23334 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23335 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23336 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23338 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23339 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23340 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23342 @item group-group-find-parameter
23343 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23344 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23345 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23347 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23348 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23349 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23351 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23352 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23353 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23355 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23356 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23357 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23358 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23361 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23365 @item gnus-read-method
23366 @findex gnus-read-method
23367 Prompts the user for a select method.
23372 @node Back End Interface
23373 @subsection Back End Interface
23375 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23376 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23377 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23378 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23379 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23380 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23382 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23383 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23384 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23385 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23386 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23387 been opened, the function should fail.
23389 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23390 name. Take this example:
23394 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23395 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23398 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23399 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23401 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23402 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23403 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23405 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23406 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23407 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23409 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23410 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23411 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23412 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23413 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23414 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23417 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23418 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23419 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23420 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23423 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23424 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23425 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23426 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23427 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23428 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23429 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23430 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23431 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23432 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23434 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23435 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23436 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23437 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23438 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23439 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23440 of numbers as long as possible.
23442 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23445 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23448 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23449 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23450 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23451 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23452 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23453 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23457 @node Required Back End Functions
23458 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23462 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23464 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23465 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23466 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23467 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23469 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23470 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23471 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23472 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23474 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23475 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23476 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23477 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23478 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23479 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23480 number, do maximum fetches.
23482 Here's an example HEAD:
23485 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23486 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23487 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23488 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23489 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23490 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23491 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23493 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23494 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23495 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23499 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23500 these in the data buffer.
23502 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23506 head = error / valid-head
23507 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23508 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23509 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23510 header = <text> eol
23513 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23514 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23518 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23519 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23520 field = <text except TAB>
23523 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23527 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23529 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23530 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23532 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23533 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23534 server. In fact, it should do so.
23536 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23537 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23540 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23542 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23543 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23546 There should be no data returned.
23549 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23551 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23552 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23553 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23554 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23556 There should be no data returned.
23559 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23561 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23562 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23563 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23564 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23566 There should be no data returned.
23569 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23571 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23573 There should be no data returned.
23576 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23578 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23579 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23580 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23581 it would be nice if that were possible.
23583 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23584 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23585 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23586 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23587 into its article buffer.
23589 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23590 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23591 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23592 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23593 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23594 on successful article retrieval.
23597 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23599 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23600 making @var{group} the current group.
23602 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23605 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23608 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23611 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23612 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23613 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23614 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23615 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23616 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23617 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23618 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23619 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23623 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23624 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23625 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23629 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23631 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23632 a no-op on most back ends.
23634 There should be no data returned.
23637 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23639 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23642 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23645 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23646 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23649 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23650 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23651 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23652 and the highest as 0.
23655 active-file = *active-line
23656 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23658 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23661 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23662 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23663 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23666 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23668 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23669 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23670 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23671 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23672 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23673 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23675 There should be no result data from this function.
23680 @node Optional Back End Functions
23681 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23685 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23687 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23688 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23689 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23691 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23692 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23693 former is in the same format as the data from
23694 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23695 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23698 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23702 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23704 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23705 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23706 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23707 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23708 should return the (altered) group info.
23710 There should be no result data from this function.
23713 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23715 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23716 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23717 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23718 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23719 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23720 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23721 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23722 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23724 There should be no result data from this function.
23727 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23729 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23730 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23731 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23732 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23733 propagate the mark information to the server.
23735 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23738 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23741 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23742 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23743 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23744 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23745 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23746 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23747 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23748 possible, not limit itself to these.
23750 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23751 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23752 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23753 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23755 An example action list:
23758 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23759 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23760 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23763 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23764 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23766 There should be no result data from this function.
23768 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23770 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23771 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23772 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23773 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23774 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23776 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23777 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23778 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23781 There should be no result data from this function.
23784 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23786 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23787 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23788 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23789 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23790 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23791 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23792 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23794 There should be no result data from this function.
23797 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23799 The result data from this function should be a description of
23803 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23805 description = <text>
23808 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23810 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23811 groups available on the server.
23814 description-buffer = *description-line
23818 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23820 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23821 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23822 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23823 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23824 in the active buffer format.
23826 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23827 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23828 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23829 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23830 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23831 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23832 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23835 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23837 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23839 There should be no return data.
23842 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23844 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23845 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23846 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23847 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23848 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23851 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23854 There should be no result data returned.
23857 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23860 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23861 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23863 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23864 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23865 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23866 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23867 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23868 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23870 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23871 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23874 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23875 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23877 There should be no data returned.
23880 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23882 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23883 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23884 this function in short order.
23886 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23887 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23889 There should be no data returned.
23892 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23894 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23895 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23897 There should be no data returned.
23900 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23902 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23903 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23904 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23906 There should be no data returned.
23909 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23911 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23912 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23914 There should be no data returned.
23919 @node Error Messaging
23920 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23922 @findex nnheader-report
23923 @findex nnheader-get-report
23924 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23925 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23926 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23927 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23928 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23929 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23932 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23934 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23937 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23938 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23939 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23940 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23942 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23943 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23944 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23947 @node Writing New Back Ends
23948 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23950 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23951 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23952 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23953 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23954 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23957 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23958 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23959 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23961 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23962 package called @code{nnoo}.
23964 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23965 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23971 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23972 parameters. For instance:
23975 (nnoo-declare nndir
23979 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23980 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23983 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23984 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23985 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23987 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23988 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23989 a function in those back ends.
23992 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23993 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23994 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23997 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23998 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23999 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
24001 @item nnoo-define-basics
24002 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
24006 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24010 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
24011 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
24012 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
24014 @item nnoo-map-functions
24015 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
24016 functions from the parent back ends.
24019 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24020 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24021 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24024 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24025 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24026 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24027 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24030 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24031 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24032 haven't already been defined.
24038 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24042 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24043 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24044 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24049 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24052 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24053 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24057 (require 'nnheader)
24061 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24063 (nnoo-declare nndir
24066 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24067 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24068 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24070 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24071 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24074 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24076 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24077 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24078 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24080 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24081 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24083 ;;; Interface functions.
24085 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24087 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24088 (setq nndir-directory
24089 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24091 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24092 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24093 (push `(nndir-current-group
24094 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24095 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24097 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24098 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24100 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24102 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24103 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24104 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24105 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24106 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24110 nnmh-status-message
24112 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24118 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24119 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24121 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24122 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24123 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24124 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24125 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24127 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24128 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24133 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24136 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24138 The abilities can be:
24142 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24144 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24146 This back end supports both mail and news.
24148 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24151 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24152 articles and groups.
24154 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24155 true for almost all back ends.
24156 @item prompt-address
24157 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24158 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24159 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24163 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24164 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24166 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24167 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24168 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24169 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24172 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24173 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24174 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24177 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24178 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24181 This function takes four parameters.
24185 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24188 @item exit-function
24189 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24191 @item temp-directory
24192 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24195 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24196 performed for one group only.
24199 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24200 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24201 find the article number assigned to this article.
24203 The function also uses the following variables:
24204 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24205 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24206 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24207 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24211 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24212 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24216 @node Score File Syntax
24217 @subsection Score File Syntax
24219 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24220 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24221 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24223 Here's a typical score file:
24227 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24234 BNF definition of a score file:
24237 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24238 element = rule / atom
24239 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24240 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24241 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24242 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24244 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24245 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24246 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24247 date-header = "date"
24248 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24249 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24250 score = "nil" / <integer>
24251 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24252 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24253 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24254 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24255 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24256 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24257 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24258 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24259 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24260 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24261 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24262 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24263 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24264 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24265 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24266 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24267 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24268 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24269 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24270 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24271 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24272 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24273 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24274 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24275 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24276 eval = "eval" space <form>
24277 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24280 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24283 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24284 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24285 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24286 one looong line, then that's ok.
24288 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24289 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24293 @subsection Headers
24295 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24296 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24297 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24298 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24300 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24301 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24302 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24303 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24304 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24305 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24306 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24308 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24309 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24310 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24311 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24312 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24314 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24315 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24321 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24322 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24324 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24325 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24326 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24327 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24329 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24333 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24336 is transformed into
24339 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24342 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24343 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24346 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24349 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24350 is slightly tricky:
24353 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24359 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24362 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24368 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24375 and is equal to the previous range.
24377 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24378 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24379 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24383 range = simple-range / normal-range
24384 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24385 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24386 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24387 number *[ " " contents ]
24390 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24391 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24392 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24393 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24394 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24399 @subsection Group Info
24401 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24402 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24403 describes the group.
24405 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24406 second is a more complex one:
24409 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24411 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24412 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24414 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24417 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24418 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24419 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24420 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24421 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24422 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24423 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24424 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24425 this section is about.
24427 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24428 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24429 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24431 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24434 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24435 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24436 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24437 group = quote <string> quote
24438 ralevel = rank / level
24439 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24440 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24441 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24443 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24444 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24445 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24446 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24449 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24450 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24453 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24454 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24457 @item gnus-info-group
24458 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24459 @findex gnus-info-group
24460 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24461 Get/set the group name.
24463 @item gnus-info-rank
24464 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24465 @findex gnus-info-rank
24466 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24467 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24469 @item gnus-info-level
24470 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24471 @findex gnus-info-level
24472 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24473 Get/set the group level.
24475 @item gnus-info-score
24476 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24477 @findex gnus-info-score
24478 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24479 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24481 @item gnus-info-read
24482 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24483 @findex gnus-info-read
24484 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24485 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24487 @item gnus-info-marks
24488 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24489 @findex gnus-info-marks
24490 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24491 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24493 @item gnus-info-method
24494 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24495 @findex gnus-info-method
24496 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24497 Get/set the group select method.
24499 @item gnus-info-params
24500 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24501 @findex gnus-info-params
24502 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24503 Get/set the group parameters.
24506 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24507 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24509 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24510 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24511 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24512 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24515 @node Extended Interactive
24516 @subsection Extended Interactive
24517 @cindex interactive
24518 @findex gnus-interactive
24520 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24521 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24522 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24525 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24526 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24531 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24532 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24533 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24534 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24535 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24536 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24537 @code{interactive}.
24539 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24544 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24545 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24549 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24550 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24551 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24554 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24558 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24562 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24568 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24569 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24573 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24574 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24575 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24577 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24578 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24579 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24580 Gnus, that's very useful.
24582 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24583 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24584 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24585 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24586 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24587 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24588 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24589 following function:
24592 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24596 (,function ,@@args))
24600 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24601 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24602 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24605 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24606 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24607 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24609 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24610 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24611 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24614 @node Various File Formats
24615 @subsection Various File Formats
24618 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24619 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24623 @node Active File Format
24624 @subsubsection Active File Format
24626 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24627 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24630 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24633 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24634 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24635 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24636 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24637 no.general 1000 900 y
24640 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24643 active = *group-line
24644 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24645 group = <non-white-space string>
24647 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24648 low-number = <positive integer>
24649 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24652 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24653 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24656 @node Newsgroups File Format
24657 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24659 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24660 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24661 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24664 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24665 Here's the definition:
24669 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24670 group = <non-white-space string>
24672 description = <string>
24677 @node Emacs for Heathens
24678 @section Emacs for Heathens
24680 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24681 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24682 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24683 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24684 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24685 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24686 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24690 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24691 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24696 @subsection Keystrokes
24700 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24703 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24706 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24707 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24708 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24709 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24710 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24711 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24713 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24714 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24715 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24716 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24717 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24718 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24719 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24721 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24722 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24723 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24724 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24725 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24726 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24727 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24729 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24730 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24731 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24732 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24733 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24739 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24741 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24742 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24743 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24744 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24746 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24747 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24748 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24749 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24750 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24751 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24752 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24755 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24756 write the following:
24759 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24762 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24763 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24764 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24767 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24768 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24769 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24770 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24771 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24773 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24774 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24775 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24779 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24783 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24786 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24787 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24790 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24793 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24794 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24797 @include gnus-faq.texi
24817 @c Local Variables:
24819 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24821 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24822 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24823 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24824 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24825 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref