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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
276 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
279 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
280 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
281 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
282 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
283 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
284 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
285 License'' in the Emacs manual.
287 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
288 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
289 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
291 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
292 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
293 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
294 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
302 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
304 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
306 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
307 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
308 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
309 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
310 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
311 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
312 License'' in the Emacs manual.
314 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
315 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
316 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
318 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
319 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
320 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
321 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
329 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
332 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
333 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
335 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
336 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
337 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
338 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
339 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
340 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
341 License'' in the Emacs manual.
343 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
344 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
345 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
347 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
348 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
349 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
350 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
359 @top The Gnus Newsreader
363 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
364 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
365 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
368 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.01.
379 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
380 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
382 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
383 being accused of plagiarism:
385 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
386 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
387 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
388 can even read news with it!
390 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
391 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
392 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
393 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
394 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
400 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
401 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
402 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
403 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
404 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
405 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
406 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
407 * Various:: General purpose settings.
408 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
409 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
410 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
411 * Key Index:: Key Index.
414 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
418 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
419 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
420 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
421 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
422 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
423 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
424 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
425 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
426 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
427 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
428 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
432 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
433 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
434 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
438 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
439 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
440 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
441 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
442 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
443 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
444 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
445 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
446 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
447 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
448 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
449 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
450 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
451 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
452 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
453 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
454 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
458 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
459 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
460 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
464 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
465 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
466 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
467 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
468 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
472 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
473 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
474 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
475 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
479 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
480 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
481 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
482 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
483 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
484 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
485 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
486 * Threading:: How threads are made.
487 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
488 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
489 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
490 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
491 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
492 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
493 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
494 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
495 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
496 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
497 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
498 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
499 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
500 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
501 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
502 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
503 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
504 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
505 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
506 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
507 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
509 Summary Buffer Format
511 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
512 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
513 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
514 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
518 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
519 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
521 Reply, Followup and Post
523 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
524 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
525 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
526 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
530 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
531 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
532 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
533 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
534 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
535 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
539 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
540 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
542 Customizing Threading
544 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
545 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
546 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
547 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
551 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
552 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
553 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
554 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
555 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
556 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
560 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
561 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
562 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
566 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
567 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
568 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
569 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
570 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
571 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
572 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
573 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
575 Alternative Approaches
577 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
578 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
580 Various Summary Stuff
582 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
583 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
584 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
585 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
589 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
590 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
591 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
592 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
593 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
597 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
598 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
599 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
600 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
601 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
602 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
603 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
607 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
608 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
609 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
610 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
611 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
612 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
613 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
617 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
618 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
619 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
620 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
621 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
622 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
623 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
627 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
628 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
632 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
633 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
634 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
635 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
636 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
637 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
638 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
639 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
640 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
641 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
642 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
643 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
644 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
648 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
649 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
650 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
652 Choosing a Mail Backend
654 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
655 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
656 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
657 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
658 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
659 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
663 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
664 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
665 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
666 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
670 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
671 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
672 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
673 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
674 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
675 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
679 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
683 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
684 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
685 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
689 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
690 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
691 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
695 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
696 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
700 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
701 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
702 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
703 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
704 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
705 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
706 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
707 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
708 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
709 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
713 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
714 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
715 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
719 * Group Agent Commands::
720 * Summary Agent Commands::
721 * Server Agent Commands::
725 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
726 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
727 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
728 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
729 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
730 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
731 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
732 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
733 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
734 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
735 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
736 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
737 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
738 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
739 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
740 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
744 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
745 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
746 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
747 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
751 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
752 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
753 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
757 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
758 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
759 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
760 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
761 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
762 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
763 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
764 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
765 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
766 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
767 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
768 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
769 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
770 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
771 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
772 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
773 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
774 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
778 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
779 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
780 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
781 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
782 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
786 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
787 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
788 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
789 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
793 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
794 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
795 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
796 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
797 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
801 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
802 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
803 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
804 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
805 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
806 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
807 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
808 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
812 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
813 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
814 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
815 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
816 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
817 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
818 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
819 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
820 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
821 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
825 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
826 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
827 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
828 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
832 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
833 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
834 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
835 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
839 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
840 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
841 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
842 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
843 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
844 * Group Info:: The group info format.
845 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
846 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
847 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
851 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
852 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
853 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
854 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
855 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
856 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
860 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
861 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
865 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
866 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
872 @chapter Starting Gnus
877 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
878 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
881 @findex gnus-other-frame
882 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
883 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
884 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
886 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
887 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
888 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
890 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
891 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
894 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
895 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
896 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
897 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
898 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
899 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
900 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
901 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
902 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
903 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
904 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
908 @node Finding the News
909 @section Finding the News
912 @vindex gnus-select-method
914 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
915 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
916 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
917 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
920 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
921 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
924 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
927 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
930 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
933 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
934 certainly be much faster.
936 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
938 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
939 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
940 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
941 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
942 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
943 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
945 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
946 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
947 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
948 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
950 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
951 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
952 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
953 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
954 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
955 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
956 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
957 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
958 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
961 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
963 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
964 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
965 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
966 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
967 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
968 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
970 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
972 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
973 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
974 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
975 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
976 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
977 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
980 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
981 would typically set this variable to
984 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
989 @section The First Time
990 @cindex first time usage
992 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
993 be subscribed by default.
995 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
996 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
997 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
998 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1001 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1002 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1003 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1005 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1006 help you with most common problems.
1008 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1009 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1013 @node The Server is Down
1014 @section The Server is Down
1015 @cindex server errors
1017 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1018 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1019 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1021 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1022 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1023 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1024 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1025 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1026 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1027 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1029 @findex gnus-no-server
1030 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1032 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1033 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1034 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1035 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1036 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1037 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1042 @section Slave Gnusae
1045 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1046 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1047 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1048 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1050 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1051 @code{.newsrc} file.
1053 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1054 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1055 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1056 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1057 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1058 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1059 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1061 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1062 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1063 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1064 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1065 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1066 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1067 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1068 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1070 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1071 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1074 @node Fetching a Group
1075 @section Fetching a Group
1076 @cindex fetching a group
1078 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1079 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1080 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1081 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1082 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1083 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1089 @cindex subscription
1091 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1092 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1093 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1094 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1095 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1096 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1097 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1098 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1099 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1102 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1103 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1104 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1108 @node Checking New Groups
1109 @subsection Checking New Groups
1111 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1112 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1113 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1114 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1115 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1116 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1117 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1118 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1119 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1120 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1122 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1123 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1124 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1125 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1126 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1127 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1128 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1129 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1130 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1131 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1132 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1134 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1135 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1136 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1137 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1138 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1139 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1142 @node Subscription Methods
1143 @subsection Subscription Methods
1145 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1146 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1147 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1149 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1150 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1152 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1156 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1157 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1158 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1159 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1160 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1162 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1163 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1164 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1165 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1167 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1168 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1169 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1171 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1172 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1173 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1174 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1175 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1176 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1177 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1178 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1179 up. Or something like that.
1181 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1182 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1183 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1184 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1185 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1187 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1188 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1189 Kill all new groups.
1191 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1192 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1193 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1194 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1195 topic parameter that looks like
1201 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1204 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1209 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1210 A closely related variable is
1211 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1212 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1213 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1214 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1217 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1218 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1219 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1220 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1223 @node Filtering New Groups
1224 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1226 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1227 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1228 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1231 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1235 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1236 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1237 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1238 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1239 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1240 subscribing these groups.
1241 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1242 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1244 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1245 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1246 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1247 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1248 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1249 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1250 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1251 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1253 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1254 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1255 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1256 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1257 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1258 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1259 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1260 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1261 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1262 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1264 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1265 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1268 @node Changing Servers
1269 @section Changing Servers
1270 @cindex changing servers
1272 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1273 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1274 very flaky and you want to use another.
1276 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1277 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1281 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1282 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1283 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1284 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1287 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1288 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1289 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1290 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1292 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1293 @findex gnus-change-server
1294 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1295 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1296 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1297 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1298 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1300 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1301 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1302 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1303 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1304 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1306 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1307 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1308 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1309 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1310 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1311 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1313 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1314 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1315 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1319 @section Startup Files
1320 @cindex startup files
1325 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1326 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1328 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1329 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1330 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1331 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1332 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1333 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1334 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1336 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1337 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1338 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1339 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1340 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1341 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1343 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1344 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1345 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1346 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1347 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1348 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1349 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1350 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1351 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1352 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1354 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1355 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1356 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1357 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1358 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1359 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1360 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1361 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1362 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1363 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1364 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1365 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1367 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1368 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1369 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1370 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1372 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1373 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1374 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1375 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1376 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1377 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1378 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1379 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1380 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1381 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1384 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1385 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1387 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1388 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1391 @vindex gnus-init-file
1392 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1393 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1394 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1395 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1396 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1397 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1398 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1399 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1400 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1406 @cindex dribble file
1409 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1410 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1411 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1412 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1413 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1416 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1417 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1420 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1421 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1422 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1424 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1425 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1426 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1427 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1428 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1429 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1431 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1432 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1433 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1436 @node The Active File
1437 @section The Active File
1439 @cindex ignored groups
1441 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1442 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1443 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1445 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1446 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1447 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1448 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1449 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1450 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1451 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1454 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1455 @c if you set it to anything else.
1457 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1459 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1460 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1461 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1463 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1464 you actually subscribe to.
1466 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1467 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1468 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1469 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1471 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1472 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1473 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1474 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1475 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1476 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1478 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1479 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1480 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1482 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1483 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1484 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1485 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1486 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1487 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1489 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1490 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1492 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1493 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1495 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1496 secondary select methods.
1499 @node Startup Variables
1500 @section Startup Variables
1504 @item gnus-load-hook
1505 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1506 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1507 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1508 times you start Gnus.
1510 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1511 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1512 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1514 @item gnus-startup-hook
1515 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1516 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1518 @item gnus-started-hook
1519 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1520 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1523 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1524 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1525 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1526 generating the group buffer.
1528 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1529 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1530 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1531 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1532 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1533 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1534 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1535 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1537 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1538 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1539 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1540 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1541 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1542 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1544 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1545 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1546 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1548 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1549 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1550 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1552 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1553 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1554 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1555 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1560 @node The Group Buffer
1561 @chapter The Group Buffer
1562 @cindex group buffer
1564 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1565 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1566 long as Gnus is active.
1570 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1571 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1572 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1573 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1574 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1575 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1576 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1577 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1583 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1584 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1585 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1586 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1587 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1588 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1589 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1590 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1591 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1592 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1593 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1594 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1595 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1596 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1597 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1598 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1599 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1603 @node Group Buffer Format
1604 @section Group Buffer Format
1607 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1608 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1609 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1613 @node Group Line Specification
1614 @subsection Group Line Specification
1615 @cindex group buffer format
1617 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1618 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1620 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1623 25: news.announce.newusers
1624 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1629 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1630 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1631 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1632 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1634 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1635 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1636 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1637 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1638 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1639 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1641 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1643 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1644 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1645 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1646 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1649 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1650 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1651 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1653 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1658 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1661 Whether the group is subscribed.
1664 Level of subscribedness.
1667 Number of unread articles.
1670 Number of dormant articles.
1673 Number of ticked articles.
1676 Number of read articles.
1679 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1680 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1683 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1686 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1695 Newsgroup description.
1698 @samp{m} if moderated.
1701 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1710 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1714 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1717 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1718 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1719 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1720 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1721 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1724 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1726 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1730 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1734 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1735 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1736 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1737 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1738 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1739 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1744 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1745 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1746 group, or a bogus native group.
1749 @node Group Modeline Specification
1750 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1751 @cindex group modeline
1753 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1754 The mode line can be changed by setting
1755 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1756 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1760 The native news server.
1762 The native select method.
1766 @node Group Highlighting
1767 @subsection Group Highlighting
1768 @cindex highlighting
1769 @cindex group highlighting
1771 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1772 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1773 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1774 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1775 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1777 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1781 (cond (window-system
1782 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1783 (defface my-group-face-1
1784 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1785 (defface my-group-face-2
1786 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1787 (defface my-group-face-3
1788 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1789 (defface my-group-face-4
1790 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1791 (defface my-group-face-5
1792 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1794 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1795 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1796 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1797 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1798 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1799 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1802 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1804 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1811 The number of unread articles in the group.
1815 Whether the group is a mail group.
1817 The level of the group.
1819 The score of the group.
1821 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1823 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1824 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1826 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1827 topic being inserted.
1830 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1831 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1832 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1834 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1835 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1836 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1837 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1838 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1841 @node Group Maneuvering
1842 @section Group Maneuvering
1843 @cindex group movement
1845 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1846 expected, hopefully.
1852 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1853 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1854 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1861 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1862 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1867 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1871 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1872 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1876 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1877 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1878 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1882 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1883 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1884 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1887 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1893 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1894 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1895 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1900 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1901 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1902 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1906 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1907 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1908 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1911 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1912 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1913 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1914 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1918 @node Selecting a Group
1919 @section Selecting a Group
1920 @cindex group selection
1925 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1926 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1927 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1928 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1929 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1930 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1931 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1932 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1933 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1934 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1936 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1937 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1938 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1940 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1941 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1946 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1947 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1948 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1949 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1950 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1954 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1955 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1956 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1957 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1958 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1959 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1960 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1961 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1962 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1963 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1966 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1967 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1968 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1969 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1970 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1973 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1974 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1975 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1976 doing any processing of its contents
1977 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1978 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1979 manner will have no permanent effects.
1983 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1984 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1985 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1986 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1987 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1988 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1989 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1990 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1993 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1994 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1995 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1996 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2001 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2002 full summary buffer.
2005 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2008 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2013 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2014 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2015 Useful functions include:
2018 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2019 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2020 don't select the article.
2022 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2023 Select the first unread article.
2025 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2026 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2030 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2031 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2032 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2036 @node Subscription Commands
2037 @section Subscription Commands
2038 @cindex subscription
2046 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2047 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2048 Toggle subscription to the current group
2049 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2056 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2057 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2058 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2064 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2065 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2066 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2072 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2073 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2076 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2077 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2078 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2079 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2080 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2086 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2087 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2091 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2092 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2095 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2096 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2097 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2098 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2099 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2100 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2101 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2102 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2103 @file{.newsrc} file.
2107 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2117 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2118 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2119 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2120 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2121 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2122 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2127 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2128 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2129 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2133 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2134 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2135 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2137 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2138 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2139 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2140 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2141 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2142 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2149 @section Group Levels
2153 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2154 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2155 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2156 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2157 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2159 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2165 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2166 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2167 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2168 prompted for a level.
2171 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2172 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2173 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2174 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2175 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2176 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2177 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2178 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2179 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2180 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2181 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2182 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2183 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2184 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2185 reasons of efficiency.
2187 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2188 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2190 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2191 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2192 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2193 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2194 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2195 groups are hidden, in a way.
2197 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2198 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2199 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2200 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2201 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2202 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2204 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2205 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2206 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2207 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2208 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2209 list of killed groups.)
2211 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2212 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2213 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2215 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2216 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2217 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2218 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2219 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2220 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2221 relevant valid ranges.
2223 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2224 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2225 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2226 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2227 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2228 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2231 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2232 one with the best level.
2234 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2235 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2236 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2239 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2240 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2241 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2242 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2245 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2246 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2247 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2248 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2250 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2251 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2252 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2253 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2254 to 5. The default is 6.
2258 @section Group Score
2263 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2264 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2265 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2268 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2269 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2270 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2271 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2272 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2273 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2274 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2275 least significant part.))
2277 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2278 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2279 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2280 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2281 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2282 action after each summary exit, you can add
2283 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2284 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2285 slow things down somewhat.
2288 @node Marking Groups
2289 @section Marking Groups
2290 @cindex marking groups
2292 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2293 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2294 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2295 bidding on those groups.
2297 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2298 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2299 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2307 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2308 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2314 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2315 Remove the mark from the current group
2316 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2320 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2321 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2325 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2326 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2330 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2331 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2335 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2336 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2337 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2340 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2342 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2343 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2344 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2345 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2346 the command to be executed.
2349 @node Foreign Groups
2350 @section Foreign Groups
2351 @cindex foreign groups
2353 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2354 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2355 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2356 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2363 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2364 @cindex making groups
2365 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2366 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2367 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2371 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2372 @cindex renaming groups
2373 Rename the current group to something else
2374 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2375 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2381 @findex gnus-group-customize
2382 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2386 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2387 @cindex renaming groups
2388 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2389 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2393 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2394 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2395 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2399 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2400 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2401 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2405 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2407 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2408 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2413 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2414 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2418 @cindex (ding) archive
2419 @cindex archive group
2420 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2421 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2422 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2423 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2424 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2425 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2426 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2430 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2432 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2433 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2434 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2435 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2439 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2441 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2442 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2443 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2447 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2448 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2450 Make a group based on some file or other
2451 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2452 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2453 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2454 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2455 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2456 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2457 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2461 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2462 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2463 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2464 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2468 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2473 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2474 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2475 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2476 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2477 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2478 @xref{Web Searches}.
2480 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2481 to a particular group by using a match string like
2482 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2485 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2486 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2487 This function will delete the current group
2488 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2489 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2490 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2491 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2492 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2496 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2497 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2498 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2502 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2503 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2504 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2507 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2510 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2511 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2512 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2513 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2514 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2515 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2519 @node Group Parameters
2520 @section Group Parameters
2521 @cindex group parameters
2523 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2524 Here's an example group parameter list:
2527 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2531 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2532 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2533 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2534 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2536 The following group parameters can be used:
2541 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2544 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2547 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2548 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2549 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2550 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2551 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2553 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2554 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2555 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2556 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2557 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2558 list address instead.
2562 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2565 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2568 It is totally ignored
2569 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2570 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2572 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2573 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2574 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2575 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2576 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2578 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2579 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2580 sending the message.
2584 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2585 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2586 of whether it has any unread articles.
2588 @item broken-reply-to
2589 @cindex broken-reply-to
2590 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2591 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2592 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2593 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2594 broken behavior. So there!
2598 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2599 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2603 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2604 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2605 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2610 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2611 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2612 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2613 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2614 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2615 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2616 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2620 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2621 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2622 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2625 @cindex total-expire
2626 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2627 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2628 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2629 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2634 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2635 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2636 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2637 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2638 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2639 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2642 @cindex score file group parameter
2643 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2644 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2645 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2648 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2649 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2650 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2651 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2654 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2655 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2656 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2657 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2660 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2661 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2665 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2668 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2673 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2674 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2675 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2679 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2680 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2681 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2683 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2684 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2685 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2686 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2687 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2688 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2689 @code{eval}ed there.
2691 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2692 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2693 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2694 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2695 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2698 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2699 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2700 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2701 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2702 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2704 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2705 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2706 like this in the group parameters:
2711 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2715 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2716 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2717 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2718 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2719 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2723 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2724 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2728 @node Listing Groups
2729 @section Listing Groups
2730 @cindex group listing
2732 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2740 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2741 List all groups that have unread articles
2742 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2743 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2744 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2745 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2752 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2753 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2754 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2755 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2756 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2757 unsubscribed groups).
2761 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2762 List all unread groups on a specific level
2763 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2764 with no unread articles.
2768 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2769 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2770 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2771 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2776 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2777 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2781 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2782 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2783 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2787 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2788 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2792 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2793 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2794 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2795 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2796 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2797 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2798 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2799 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2803 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2804 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2805 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2809 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2810 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2811 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2815 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2816 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2820 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2821 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2825 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2826 List groups limited within the current selection
2827 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2831 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2832 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2836 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2837 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2841 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2842 @cindex visible group parameter
2843 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2844 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2845 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2846 get the same effect.
2848 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2849 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2850 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2851 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2852 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2855 @node Sorting Groups
2856 @section Sorting Groups
2857 @cindex sorting groups
2859 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2860 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2861 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2862 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2863 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2864 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2869 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2870 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2871 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2873 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2874 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2875 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2877 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2878 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2879 Sort by group level.
2881 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2882 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2883 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2885 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2886 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2887 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2888 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2890 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2891 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2892 Sort by number of unread articles.
2894 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2895 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2896 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2898 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
2899 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
2900 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
2905 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2906 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2910 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2911 some sorting criteria:
2915 @kindex G S a (Group)
2916 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2917 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2918 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2921 @kindex G S u (Group)
2922 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2923 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2924 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2927 @kindex G S l (Group)
2928 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2929 Sort the group buffer by group level
2930 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2933 @kindex G S v (Group)
2934 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2935 Sort the group buffer by group score
2936 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2939 @kindex G S r (Group)
2940 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2941 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2942 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2945 @kindex G S m (Group)
2946 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2947 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2948 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2952 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2953 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2955 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2956 commands will sort in reverse order.
2958 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2962 @kindex G P a (Group)
2963 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2964 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2965 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2968 @kindex G P u (Group)
2969 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2970 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2971 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2974 @kindex G P l (Group)
2975 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2976 Sort the groups by group level
2977 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2980 @kindex G P v (Group)
2981 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2982 Sort the groups by group score
2983 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2986 @kindex G P r (Group)
2987 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2988 Sort the groups by group rank
2989 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2992 @kindex G P m (Group)
2993 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2994 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2995 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3001 @node Group Maintenance
3002 @section Group Maintenance
3003 @cindex bogus groups
3008 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3009 Find bogus groups and delete them
3010 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3014 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3015 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3016 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3017 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3018 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3022 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3023 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3024 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3025 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
3028 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3029 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3030 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
3031 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3036 @node Browse Foreign Server
3037 @section Browse Foreign Server
3038 @cindex foreign servers
3039 @cindex browsing servers
3044 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3045 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3046 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3047 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3050 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3051 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3052 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3053 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3055 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3060 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3061 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3065 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3066 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3069 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3070 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3071 Enter the current group and display the first article
3072 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3075 @kindex RET (Browse)
3076 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3077 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3081 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3082 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3083 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3089 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3090 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3094 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3095 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3096 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3101 @section Exiting Gnus
3102 @cindex exiting Gnus
3104 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3109 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3110 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3111 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3112 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3116 @findex gnus-group-exit
3117 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3118 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3122 @findex gnus-group-quit
3123 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3124 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3127 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3128 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3129 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3130 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3131 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3136 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3137 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3138 trying to customize meta-variables.
3143 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3144 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3145 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3151 @section Group Topics
3154 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3155 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3156 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3157 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3158 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3159 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3163 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3164 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3175 2: alt.religion.emacs
3178 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3180 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3181 13: comp.sources.unix
3184 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3186 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3187 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3188 is a toggling command.)
3190 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3191 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3192 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3193 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3196 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3197 the hook for the group mode:
3200 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3204 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3205 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3206 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3207 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3208 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3212 @node Topic Variables
3213 @subsection Topic Variables
3214 @cindex topic variables
3216 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3217 really neat, I think.
3219 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3220 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3221 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3234 Number of groups in the topic.
3236 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3238 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3241 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3242 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3243 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3246 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3247 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3249 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3250 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3251 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3254 @node Topic Commands
3255 @subsection Topic Commands
3256 @cindex topic commands
3258 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3259 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3260 definitions slightly.
3266 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3267 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3268 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3272 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3273 Move the current group to some other topic
3274 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3275 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3279 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3280 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3284 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3285 Copy the current group to some other topic
3286 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3287 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3291 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3292 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3293 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3297 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3298 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3299 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3303 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3304 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3305 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3306 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3307 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3308 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3309 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3312 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3313 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3317 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3318 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3319 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3323 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3324 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3325 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3329 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3330 Toggle hiding empty topics
3331 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3335 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3336 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3337 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3340 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3341 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3342 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3343 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3347 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3349 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3350 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3351 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3352 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3355 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3356 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3357 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3358 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3362 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3364 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3365 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3366 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3367 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3368 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3369 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3372 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3373 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3374 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3375 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3379 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3380 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3381 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3385 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3386 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3387 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3392 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3393 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3396 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3397 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3398 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3402 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3403 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3404 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3408 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3409 @cindex group parameters
3410 @cindex topic parameters
3412 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3413 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3419 @subsection Topic Sorting
3420 @cindex topic sorting
3422 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3428 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3429 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3430 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3431 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3434 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3435 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3436 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3437 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3440 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3441 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3442 Sort the current topic by group level
3443 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3446 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3447 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3448 Sort the current topic by group score
3449 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3452 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3453 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3454 Sort the current topic by group rank
3455 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3458 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3459 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3460 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3461 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3465 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3468 @node Topic Topology
3469 @subsection Topic Topology
3470 @cindex topic topology
3473 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3479 2: alt.religion.emacs
3482 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3484 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3485 13: comp.sources.unix
3488 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3489 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3490 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3495 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3496 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3500 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3501 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3502 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3503 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3504 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3505 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3507 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3508 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3509 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3512 @node Topic Parameters
3513 @subsection Topic Parameters
3514 @cindex topic parameters
3516 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3517 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3518 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3520 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3525 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3526 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3527 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3532 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3533 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3534 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3535 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3541 2: alt.religion.emacs
3545 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3547 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3548 13: comp.sources.unix
3552 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3553 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3554 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3555 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3556 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3557 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3559 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3560 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3561 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3562 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3563 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3565 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3566 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3567 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3568 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3569 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3570 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3571 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3572 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3575 @node Misc Group Stuff
3576 @section Misc Group Stuff
3579 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3580 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3581 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3582 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3589 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3590 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3591 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3595 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3596 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3597 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3601 @findex gnus-group-mail
3602 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3606 Variables for the group buffer:
3610 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3611 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3612 is called after the group buffer has been
3615 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3616 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3617 is called after the group buffer is
3618 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3621 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3622 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3623 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3624 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3626 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3627 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3628 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3629 whether they are empty or not.
3631 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3632 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3633 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3634 non-ASCII group names.
3638 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3639 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3642 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3643 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3644 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3645 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3649 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3650 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3655 @node Scanning New Messages
3656 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3657 @cindex new messages
3658 @cindex scanning new news
3664 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3665 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3666 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3667 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3668 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3669 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3674 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3675 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3676 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3677 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3678 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3679 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3680 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3682 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3683 @cindex activating groups
3685 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3686 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3691 @findex gnus-group-restart
3692 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3693 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3694 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3698 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3699 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3701 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3702 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3706 @node Group Information
3707 @subsection Group Information
3708 @cindex group information
3709 @cindex information on groups
3716 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3717 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3720 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3721 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3722 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3723 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3724 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3725 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3726 for fetching the file.
3728 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3729 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3733 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3735 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3736 @cindex describing groups
3737 @cindex group description
3738 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3739 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3740 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3744 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3745 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3746 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3753 @findex gnus-version
3754 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3758 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3759 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3762 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3765 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3766 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3770 @node Group Timestamp
3771 @subsection Group Timestamp
3773 @cindex group timestamps
3775 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3776 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3777 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3780 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3783 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3785 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3786 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3789 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3790 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3793 This will result in lines looking like:
3796 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3797 0: custom 19961002T012713
3800 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3801 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3805 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3806 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3811 @subsection File Commands
3812 @cindex file commands
3818 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3819 @vindex gnus-init-file
3820 @cindex reading init file
3821 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3822 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3826 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3827 @cindex saving .newsrc
3828 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3829 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3830 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3833 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3834 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3835 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3840 @node The Summary Buffer
3841 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3842 @cindex summary buffer
3844 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3845 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3847 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3848 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3850 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3853 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3854 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3855 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3856 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3857 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3858 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3859 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3860 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3861 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3862 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3863 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3864 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3865 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3866 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3867 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3868 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3869 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3870 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3871 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3872 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3873 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3874 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3875 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3876 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3877 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3878 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3879 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3880 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3881 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
3885 @node Summary Buffer Format
3886 @section Summary Buffer Format
3887 @cindex summary buffer format
3891 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3892 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3893 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3899 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3900 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3901 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3902 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3905 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3906 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3907 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3908 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3909 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3910 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3911 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3912 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3913 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3914 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3915 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3918 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3919 'mail-extract-address-components)
3922 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3923 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3924 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3925 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3928 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3929 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3931 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3932 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3933 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3934 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3935 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3937 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3939 The following format specification characters are understood:
3945 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3946 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3948 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3949 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3950 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3952 Full @code{From} header.
3954 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3956 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3957 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3959 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3960 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3961 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3962 may be more thorough.
3964 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3967 Number of lines in the article.
3969 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3970 methods (like nnfolder).
3972 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3974 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3975 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3977 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3978 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3980 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3981 for adopted articles.
3983 One space for each thread level.
3985 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3990 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3991 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3995 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3997 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3998 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3999 default level. If the difference between
4000 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4001 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4009 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4011 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4017 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4018 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4020 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4021 article has any children.
4027 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4028 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4029 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4030 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4031 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4032 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4035 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4036 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4037 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4038 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4039 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4040 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4042 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4043 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4045 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4048 @node To From Newsgroups
4049 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4053 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4054 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4055 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4056 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4057 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4061 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4062 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4063 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4067 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4068 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4071 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4072 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4075 @findex gnus-extra-header
4076 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4077 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4078 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4081 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4085 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4086 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4087 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4088 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4089 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4090 headers are used instead.
4094 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4095 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4096 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4097 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4100 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4101 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4102 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4103 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4105 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4108 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4110 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4111 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4112 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4113 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4117 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4118 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4125 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4126 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4129 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4130 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4132 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4133 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4134 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4135 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4137 Here are the elements you can play with:
4143 Unprefixed group name.
4145 Current article number.
4147 Current article score.
4151 Number of unread articles in this group.
4153 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4156 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4157 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4158 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4159 and no unselected ones.
4161 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4162 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4164 Subject of the current article.
4166 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4168 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4170 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4172 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4174 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4176 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4180 @node Summary Highlighting
4181 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4185 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4186 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4187 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4188 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4189 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4191 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4192 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4193 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4194 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4196 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4197 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4198 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4199 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4201 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4202 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4203 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4204 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4205 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4206 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4209 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4210 ((> score default) . bold))
4212 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4213 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4217 @node Summary Maneuvering
4218 @section Summary Maneuvering
4219 @cindex summary movement
4221 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4222 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4224 None of these commands select articles.
4229 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4230 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4231 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4232 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4233 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4237 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4238 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4239 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4240 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4241 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4246 @kindex G j (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4248 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4249 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4252 @kindex G g (Summary)
4253 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4254 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4255 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4258 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4259 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4260 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4261 to the group buffer.
4263 Variables related to summary movement:
4267 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4268 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4269 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4270 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4271 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4272 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4273 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4274 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4275 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4276 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4277 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4278 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4279 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4280 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4282 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4283 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4284 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4285 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4286 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4287 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4288 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4290 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4292 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4293 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4294 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4295 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4296 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4298 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4299 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4300 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4301 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4302 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4303 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4304 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4305 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4308 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4309 the given number of lines from the top.
4314 @node Choosing Articles
4315 @section Choosing Articles
4316 @cindex selecting articles
4319 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4320 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4324 @node Choosing Commands
4325 @subsection Choosing Commands
4327 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4328 and they all select and display an article.
4332 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4333 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4334 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4335 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4340 @kindex G n (Summary)
4341 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4343 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4348 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4349 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4350 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4355 @kindex G N (Summary)
4356 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4357 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4362 @kindex G P (Summary)
4363 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4364 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4367 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4368 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4369 Go to the next article with the same subject
4370 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4373 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4374 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4375 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4376 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4380 @kindex G f (Summary)
4382 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4383 Go to the first unread article
4384 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4388 @kindex G b (Summary)
4390 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4391 Go to the article with the highest score
4392 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4397 @kindex G l (Summary)
4398 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4399 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4402 @kindex G o (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4405 @cindex article history
4406 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4407 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4408 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4409 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4410 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4411 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4415 @node Choosing Variables
4416 @subsection Choosing Variables
4418 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4421 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4422 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4423 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4424 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4425 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4426 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4428 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4429 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4430 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4431 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4433 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4434 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4435 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4436 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4437 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4438 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4439 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4440 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4441 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4442 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4443 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4444 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4445 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4446 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4451 @node Paging the Article
4452 @section Scrolling the Article
4453 @cindex article scrolling
4458 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4459 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4460 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4461 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4462 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4465 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4466 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4467 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4470 @kindex RET (Summary)
4471 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4472 Scroll the current article one line forward
4473 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4476 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4478 Scroll the current article one line backward
4479 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4483 @kindex A g (Summary)
4485 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4486 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4487 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4488 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4489 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4490 the way it came from the server.
4492 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4493 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4494 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4497 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4502 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4507 @kindex A < (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4509 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4510 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4515 @kindex A > (Summary)
4516 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4517 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4521 @kindex A s (Summary)
4523 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4524 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4525 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4529 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4530 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4535 @node Reply Followup and Post
4536 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4539 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4540 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4541 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4542 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4546 @node Summary Mail Commands
4547 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4549 @cindex composing mail
4551 Commands for composing a mail message:
4557 @kindex S r (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4560 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4561 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4562 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4563 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4568 @kindex S R (Summary)
4569 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4570 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4571 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4572 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4573 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4576 @kindex S w (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4578 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4580 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4581 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4584 @kindex S W (Summary)
4585 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4586 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4587 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4588 the process/prefix convention.
4592 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4593 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4595 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4596 Forward the current article to some other person
4597 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4598 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4599 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4600 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4601 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4602 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4603 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4604 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4605 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4610 @kindex S m (Summary)
4611 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4612 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4613 Send a mail to some other person
4614 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4617 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4618 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4619 @cindex bouncing mail
4620 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4621 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4622 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4623 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4624 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4625 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4626 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4627 very well fail, though.
4630 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4631 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4632 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4633 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4634 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4635 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4636 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4637 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4638 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4639 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4641 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4642 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4643 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4644 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4645 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4647 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4648 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4651 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4652 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4653 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4654 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4655 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4658 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4659 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4660 @cindex crossposting
4661 @cindex excessive crossposting
4662 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4663 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4665 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4666 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4667 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4668 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4669 command understands the process/prefix convention
4670 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4674 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4677 @node Summary Post Commands
4678 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4680 @cindex composing news
4682 Commands for posting a news article:
4688 @kindex S p (Summary)
4689 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4690 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4691 Post an article to the current group
4692 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4697 @kindex S f (Summary)
4698 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4699 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4700 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4704 @kindex S F (Summary)
4706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4707 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4708 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4709 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4710 process/prefix convention.
4713 @kindex S n (Summary)
4714 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4715 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4716 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4719 @kindex S N (Summary)
4720 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4721 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4722 message through mail and include the original message
4723 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4724 the process/prefix convention.
4727 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4728 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4729 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4730 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4731 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4732 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4733 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4734 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4735 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4736 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4737 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4738 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4739 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4742 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4743 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4745 @cindex making digests
4746 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4747 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4748 process/prefix convention.
4751 @kindex S u (Summary)
4752 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4753 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4754 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4755 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4758 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4761 @node Summary Message Commands
4762 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4766 @kindex S y (Summary)
4767 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4768 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4769 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4770 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4771 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4776 @node Canceling and Superseding
4777 @subsection Canceling Articles
4778 @cindex canceling articles
4779 @cindex superseding articles
4781 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4782 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4784 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4786 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4788 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4789 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4790 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4791 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4792 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4793 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4795 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4796 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4799 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4800 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4801 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4803 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4804 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4805 your original article.
4807 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4809 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4810 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4811 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4814 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4815 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4816 have posted almost the same article twice.
4818 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4819 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4820 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4821 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4822 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4823 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4824 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4825 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4826 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4827 canceled/superseded.
4829 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4832 @node Marking Articles
4833 @section Marking Articles
4834 @cindex article marking
4835 @cindex article ticking
4838 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4840 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4841 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4842 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4844 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4847 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4848 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4849 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4853 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4857 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4858 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4859 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4863 @node Unread Articles
4864 @subsection Unread Articles
4866 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4871 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4872 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4874 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4875 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4876 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4877 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4878 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4882 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4883 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4885 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4886 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4887 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4890 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4891 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4893 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4898 @subsection Read Articles
4899 @cindex expirable mark
4901 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4906 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4907 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4908 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4911 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4912 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4915 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4916 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4917 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4920 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4921 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4924 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4925 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4928 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4929 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4932 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4933 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4936 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4937 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4940 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4941 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4944 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4945 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4949 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4950 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4951 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4955 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4956 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4958 One more special mark, though:
4962 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4963 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4965 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4966 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4967 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4968 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4974 @subsection Other Marks
4975 @cindex process mark
4978 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4984 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4985 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4986 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4987 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4988 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4991 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4992 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4993 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4994 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4997 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4998 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4999 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5002 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5003 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5004 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5005 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5008 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5009 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5010 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5011 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5012 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5015 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5016 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5017 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5018 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5019 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5020 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5024 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5025 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5026 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5028 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5029 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5030 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5034 @subsection Setting Marks
5035 @cindex setting marks
5037 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5042 @kindex M c (Summary)
5043 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5045 @cindex mark as unread
5046 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5047 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5053 @kindex M t (Summary)
5054 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5055 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5056 @xref{Article Caching}.
5061 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5063 Mark the current article as dormant
5064 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5068 @kindex M d (Summary)
5070 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5071 Mark the current article as read
5072 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5076 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5077 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5078 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5083 @kindex M k (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5085 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5086 and then select the next unread article
5087 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5091 @kindex M K (Summary)
5092 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5093 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5094 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5095 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5098 @kindex M C (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5100 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5101 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5104 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5105 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5106 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5107 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5110 @kindex M H (Summary)
5111 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5112 Catchup the current group to point
5113 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5116 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5118 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5119 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5122 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5124 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5125 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5129 @kindex M e (Summary)
5131 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5132 Mark the current article as expirable
5133 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5136 @kindex M b (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5138 Set a bookmark in the current article
5139 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5142 @kindex M B (Summary)
5143 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5144 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5145 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5148 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5150 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5151 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5154 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5155 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5156 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5157 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5160 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5162 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5163 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5164 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5167 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5168 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5169 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5170 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5171 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5172 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5173 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5174 The default is @code{t}.
5177 @node Generic Marking Commands
5178 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5180 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5181 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5182 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5183 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5184 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5187 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5188 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5191 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5192 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5193 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5194 to list in this manual.
5196 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5197 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5198 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5199 article, you could say something like:
5202 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5203 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5204 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5210 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5211 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5215 @node Setting Process Marks
5216 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5217 @cindex setting process marks
5224 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5225 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5226 Mark the current article with the process mark
5227 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5228 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5232 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5233 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5234 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5235 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5238 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5239 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5240 Remove the process mark from all articles
5241 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5244 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5246 Invert the list of process marked articles
5247 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5250 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5252 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5253 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5256 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5257 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5258 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5259 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5262 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5264 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5267 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5269 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5270 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5273 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5274 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5275 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5276 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5279 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5280 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5281 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5282 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5285 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5287 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5290 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5292 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5293 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5296 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5297 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5298 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5301 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5303 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5304 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5307 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5309 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5310 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5313 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5314 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5315 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5316 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5319 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5320 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5321 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5322 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5326 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5327 set process marks based on article body contents.
5334 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5335 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5336 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5339 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5340 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5341 additional articles.
5347 @kindex / / (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5349 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5350 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5353 @kindex / a (Summary)
5354 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5355 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5356 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5359 @kindex / x (Summary)
5360 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5361 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5362 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5367 @kindex / u (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5370 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5371 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5372 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5373 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5376 @kindex / m (Summary)
5377 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5378 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5379 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5382 @kindex / t (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5384 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5385 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5386 articles younger than that number of days.
5389 @kindex / n (Summary)
5390 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5391 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5392 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5393 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5396 @kindex / w (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5398 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5399 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5403 @kindex / v (Summary)
5404 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5405 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5406 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5410 @kindex M S (Summary)
5411 @kindex / E (Summary)
5412 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5413 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5414 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5417 @kindex / D (Summary)
5418 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5419 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5420 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5423 @kindex / * (Summary)
5424 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5425 Include all cached articles in the limit
5426 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5429 @kindex / d (Summary)
5430 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5431 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5432 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5435 @kindex / M (Summary)
5436 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5437 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5440 @kindex / T (Summary)
5441 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5442 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5445 @kindex / c (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5447 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5451 @kindex / C (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5453 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5454 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5455 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5463 @cindex article threading
5465 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5466 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5467 hierarchical fashion.
5469 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5470 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5471 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5472 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5473 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5474 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5475 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5477 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5481 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5484 A tree-like article structure.
5487 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5490 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5491 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5492 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5493 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5494 called loose threads.
5496 @item thread gathering
5497 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5499 @item sparse threads
5500 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5501 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5507 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5508 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5512 @node Customizing Threading
5513 @subsection Customizing Threading
5514 @cindex customizing threading
5517 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5518 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5519 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5520 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5525 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5528 @cindex loose threads
5531 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5532 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5533 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5534 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5535 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5536 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5538 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5539 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5540 There are four possible values:
5544 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5545 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5546 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5547 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5548 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5553 @cindex adopting articles
5558 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5559 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5560 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5561 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5564 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5565 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5566 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5567 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5568 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5569 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5570 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5573 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5574 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5575 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5579 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5580 display them after one another.
5583 Don't gather loose threads.
5586 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5587 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5588 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5589 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5590 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5591 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5592 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5593 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5594 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5595 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5596 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5598 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5599 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5600 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5603 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5604 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5605 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5606 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5607 simplification is used.
5609 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5610 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5611 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5612 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5614 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5616 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5622 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5623 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5624 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5625 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5630 (mapconcat 'identity
5631 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5633 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5636 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5639 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5640 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5641 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5642 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5643 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5644 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5646 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5649 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5650 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5651 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5653 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5654 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5657 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5658 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5659 Remove excessive whitespace.
5662 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5665 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5666 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5667 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5668 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5669 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5670 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5671 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5672 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5674 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5675 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5676 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5677 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5678 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5679 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5680 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5681 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5682 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5686 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5687 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5688 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5689 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5691 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5692 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5693 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5696 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5700 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5701 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5707 @node Filling In Threads
5708 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5711 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5712 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5713 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5714 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5715 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5716 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5717 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5718 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5719 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5720 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5721 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5722 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5724 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5725 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5726 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5728 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5729 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5730 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5731 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5732 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5733 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5734 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5735 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5736 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5737 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5738 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5739 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5740 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5741 @code{nil} by default.
5746 @node More Threading
5747 @subsubsection More Threading
5750 @item gnus-show-threads
5751 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5752 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5753 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5754 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5755 slower and more awkward.
5757 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5758 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5759 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5762 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5763 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5764 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5765 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5766 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5767 threads are expunged.
5769 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5770 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5771 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5774 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5775 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5776 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5777 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5778 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5781 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5782 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5783 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5786 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5787 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5788 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5789 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5790 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5791 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5792 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5793 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5794 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5795 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5796 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5801 @node Low-Level Threading
5802 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5806 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5807 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5808 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5810 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5811 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5812 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5813 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5814 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5815 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5816 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5817 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5818 meaningful. Here's one example:
5821 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5823 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5824 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5826 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5828 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5835 @node Thread Commands
5836 @subsection Thread Commands
5837 @cindex thread commands
5843 @kindex T k (Summary)
5844 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5846 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5847 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5848 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5853 @kindex T l (Summary)
5854 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5855 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5856 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5857 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5860 @kindex T i (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5862 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5863 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5866 @kindex T # (Summary)
5867 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5868 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5869 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5872 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5873 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5874 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5875 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5878 @kindex T T (Summary)
5879 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5880 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5883 @kindex T s (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5885 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5889 @kindex T h (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5891 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5894 @kindex T S (Summary)
5895 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5896 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5899 @kindex T H (Summary)
5900 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5901 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5904 @kindex T t (Summary)
5905 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5906 Re-thread the current article's thread
5907 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5908 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5911 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5913 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5914 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5918 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5919 understand the numeric prefix.
5924 @kindex T n (Summary)
5926 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5928 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5929 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5930 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5933 @kindex T p (Summary)
5935 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5937 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5939 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5942 @kindex T d (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5944 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5947 @kindex T u (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5949 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5952 @kindex T o (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5954 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5957 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5958 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5959 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5960 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5961 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5962 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5963 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5964 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5965 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5966 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5967 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5968 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5975 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5976 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5977 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5978 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5979 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5980 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5981 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5982 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5983 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5984 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5985 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5987 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5988 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5989 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5990 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5991 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5993 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5994 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5995 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5997 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5998 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5999 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6000 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6001 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6002 ascending article order.
6004 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6005 by number, you could do something like:
6008 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6009 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6010 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6011 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6014 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6015 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6016 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6017 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6018 which the articles arrived.
6020 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6024 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6026 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6027 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6030 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6031 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6032 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6033 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6036 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6037 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6038 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6039 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6040 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6041 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6042 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6043 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6044 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6045 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6046 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6047 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6048 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6050 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6054 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6055 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6056 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6061 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6062 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6063 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6064 @cindex article pre-fetch
6067 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6068 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6069 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6070 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6071 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6073 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6074 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6076 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6077 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6078 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6079 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6080 connection is blocked.
6082 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6083 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6084 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6085 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6087 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6088 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6089 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6090 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6093 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6096 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6097 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6098 happen automatically.
6100 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6101 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6102 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6103 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6104 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6105 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6106 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6108 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6109 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6110 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6111 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6112 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6113 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6114 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6115 data structure as the only parameter.
6117 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6120 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6121 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6122 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6123 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6126 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6129 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6130 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6131 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6133 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6134 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6135 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6136 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6140 Remove articles when they are read.
6143 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6146 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6148 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6149 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6150 @c from the next group.
6153 @node Article Caching
6154 @section Article Caching
6155 @cindex article caching
6158 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6159 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6160 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6161 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6162 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6164 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6166 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6167 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6168 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6169 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6170 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6171 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6172 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6173 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6175 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6176 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6177 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6178 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6179 as dormant, and don't worry.
6181 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6183 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6184 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6185 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6186 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6187 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6188 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6189 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6190 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6191 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6192 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6194 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6195 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6196 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6197 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6198 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6199 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6200 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6201 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6202 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6203 not then be downloaded by this command.
6205 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6206 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6207 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6208 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6209 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6210 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6212 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6213 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6214 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6215 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6216 variables, the group is not cached.
6218 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6219 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6220 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6221 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6222 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6223 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6224 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6225 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6226 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6230 @node Persistent Articles
6231 @section Persistent Articles
6232 @cindex persistent articles
6234 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6235 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6236 useful in my opinion.
6238 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6239 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6240 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6241 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6242 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6243 the expiry going on at the news server.
6245 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6246 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6247 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6253 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6254 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6257 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6259 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6260 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6264 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6266 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6267 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6268 interested in persistent articles:
6271 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6275 @node Article Backlog
6276 @section Article Backlog
6278 @cindex article backlog
6280 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6281 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6282 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6283 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6284 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6285 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6286 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6287 increase memory usage some.
6289 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6290 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6291 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6292 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6293 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6294 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6295 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6297 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6300 @node Saving Articles
6301 @section Saving Articles
6302 @cindex saving articles
6304 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6305 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6306 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6307 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6308 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6310 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6311 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6312 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6314 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6315 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6316 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6317 deleted before saving.
6323 @kindex O o (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6326 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6327 Save the current article using the default article saver
6328 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6331 @kindex O m (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6333 Save the current article in mail format
6334 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6337 @kindex O r (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6339 Save the current article in rmail format
6340 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6343 @kindex O f (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6345 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6346 Save the current article in plain file format
6347 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6350 @kindex O F (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6352 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6353 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6356 @kindex O b (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6358 Save the current article body in plain file format
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6362 @kindex O h (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6364 Save the current article in mh folder format
6365 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6368 @kindex O v (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6370 Save the current article in a VM folder
6371 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6374 @kindex O p (Summary)
6375 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6376 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6377 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6380 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6381 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6382 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6383 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6384 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6385 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6386 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6387 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6388 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6389 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6390 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6391 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6395 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6396 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6397 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6398 functions below, or you can create your own.
6402 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6403 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6404 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6405 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6406 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6407 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6408 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6410 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6411 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6412 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6413 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6414 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6415 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6417 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6418 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6419 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6420 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6421 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6422 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6423 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6425 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6426 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6427 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6428 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6429 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6431 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6432 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6433 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6434 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6435 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6438 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6439 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6440 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6441 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6442 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6444 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6445 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6446 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6447 reader to use this setting.
6450 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6451 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6452 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6453 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6456 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6457 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6458 available functions that generate names:
6462 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6463 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6464 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6466 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6467 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6468 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6470 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6471 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6472 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6474 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6475 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6476 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6479 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6480 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6481 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6482 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6483 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6487 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6488 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6489 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6490 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6493 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6494 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6495 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6496 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6497 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6498 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6499 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6500 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6501 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6503 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6504 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6505 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6506 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6508 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6509 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6510 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6513 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6514 lots of mail groups called things like
6515 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6516 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6517 following will do just that:
6520 (defun my-save-name (group)
6521 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6522 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6524 (setq gnus-split-methods
6525 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6530 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6531 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6532 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6533 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6534 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6535 all the files in the top level directory
6536 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6537 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6538 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6539 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6541 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6542 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6543 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6544 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6545 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6548 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6552 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6553 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6556 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6557 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6558 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6559 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6562 @node Decoding Articles
6563 @section Decoding Articles
6564 @cindex decoding articles
6566 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6567 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6570 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6571 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6572 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6573 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6574 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6575 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6579 @cindex article series
6580 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6581 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6582 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6583 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6584 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6586 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6587 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6588 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6590 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6591 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6592 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6594 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6595 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6596 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6599 @node Uuencoded Articles
6600 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6602 @cindex uuencoded articles
6607 @kindex X u (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6609 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6610 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6613 @kindex X U (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6615 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6616 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6619 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6621 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6624 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6626 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6627 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6631 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6632 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6633 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6634 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6635 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6637 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6638 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6639 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6640 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6643 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6644 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6645 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6646 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6647 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6648 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6652 @node Shell Archives
6653 @subsection Shell Archives
6655 @cindex shell archives
6656 @cindex shared articles
6658 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6659 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6660 some commands to deal with these:
6665 @kindex X s (Summary)
6666 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6667 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6670 @kindex X S (Summary)
6671 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6672 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6675 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6676 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6677 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6680 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6681 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6682 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6683 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6687 @node PostScript Files
6688 @subsection PostScript Files
6694 @kindex X p (Summary)
6695 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6696 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6699 @kindex X P (Summary)
6700 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6701 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6702 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6705 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6707 View the current PostScript series
6708 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6711 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6712 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6713 View and save the current PostScript series
6714 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6719 @subsection Other Files
6723 @kindex X o (Summary)
6724 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6725 Save the current series
6726 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6729 @kindex X b (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6731 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6732 doesn't really work yet.
6736 @node Decoding Variables
6737 @subsection Decoding Variables
6739 Adjective, not verb.
6742 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6743 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6744 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6748 @node Rule Variables
6749 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6750 @cindex rule variables
6752 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6753 variables are of the form
6756 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6763 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6764 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6766 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6767 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6770 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6771 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6774 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6775 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6776 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6777 user and default view rules.
6779 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6780 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6781 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6786 @node Other Decode Variables
6787 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6790 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6792 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6793 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6794 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6795 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6796 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6800 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6801 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6804 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6805 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6806 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6809 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6810 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6811 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6812 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6813 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6816 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6817 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6818 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6820 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6821 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6822 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6823 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6824 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6827 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6828 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6829 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6831 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6832 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6833 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6834 looking for files to display.
6836 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6837 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6838 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6841 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6842 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6843 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6846 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6847 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6848 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6851 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6852 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6853 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6856 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6857 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6858 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6859 decoded articles as unread.
6861 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6862 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6863 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6864 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6866 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6867 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6868 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6870 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6871 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6873 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6874 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6875 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6876 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6878 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6879 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6880 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6881 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6882 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6883 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6884 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6885 simply dropped them.
6890 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6891 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6895 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6896 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6897 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6898 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6899 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6900 for you when you post the article.
6902 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6903 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6904 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6905 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6907 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6908 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6909 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6910 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6911 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6912 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6913 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6915 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6916 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6917 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6918 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6919 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6920 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6921 Default is @code{t}.
6927 @subsection Viewing Files
6928 @cindex viewing files
6929 @cindex pseudo-articles
6931 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6932 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6933 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6934 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6935 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6936 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6937 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6939 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6940 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6941 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6942 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6944 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6945 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6946 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6948 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6949 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6950 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6951 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6952 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6954 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6955 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6956 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6957 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6958 a list of parameters to that command.
6960 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6961 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6962 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6964 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6965 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6966 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6969 @node Article Treatment
6970 @section Article Treatment
6972 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6973 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6974 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6975 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6976 these articles easier.
6979 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6980 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6981 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6982 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6983 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6984 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6985 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6986 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6990 @node Article Highlighting
6991 @subsection Article Highlighting
6992 @cindex highlighting
6994 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6995 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7000 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7001 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7002 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7003 Do much highlighting of the current article
7004 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7005 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7008 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7009 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7010 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7011 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7012 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7013 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7014 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7015 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7016 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7017 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7018 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7019 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7022 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7023 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7024 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7026 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7029 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7031 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7032 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7033 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7035 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7036 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7037 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7039 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7040 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7041 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7042 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7043 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7044 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7046 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7047 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7048 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7050 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7051 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7052 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7054 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7055 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7056 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7057 that it's a citation.
7059 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7060 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7061 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7063 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7064 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7065 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7067 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7068 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7069 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7070 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7076 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7077 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7078 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7079 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7080 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7081 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7082 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7083 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7088 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7091 @node Article Fontisizing
7092 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7094 @cindex article emphasis
7096 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7097 @kindex W e (Summary)
7098 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7099 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7100 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7101 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7103 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7104 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7105 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7106 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7107 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7108 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7109 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7110 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7114 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7115 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7116 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7125 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7126 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7127 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7128 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7129 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7130 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7131 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7132 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7133 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7134 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7135 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7136 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7137 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7139 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7140 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7141 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7145 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7148 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7150 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7151 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7152 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7153 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7155 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7158 @node Article Hiding
7159 @subsection Article Hiding
7160 @cindex article hiding
7162 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7163 too much cruft in most articles.
7168 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7169 @findex gnus-article-hide
7170 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7171 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7172 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7175 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7176 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7177 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7181 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7182 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7183 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7184 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7187 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7189 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7193 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7194 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7195 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7196 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7197 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7198 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7199 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7200 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7204 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7205 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7206 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7207 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7212 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7214 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7215 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7216 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7217 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7218 articles that have signatures in them do:
7220 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7222 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7224 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7225 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7227 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7230 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7235 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7236 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7237 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7238 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7241 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7242 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7245 @cindex stripping advertisements
7246 @cindex advertisements
7247 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7248 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7249 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7250 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7251 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7252 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7253 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7254 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7255 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7256 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7260 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7261 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7262 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7263 customizing the hiding:
7267 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7268 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7269 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7270 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7271 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7272 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7273 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7278 Starting point of the hidden text.
7280 Ending point of the hidden text.
7282 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7284 Number of lines of hidden text.
7287 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7288 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7289 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7290 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7291 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7296 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7297 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7299 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7300 following two variables:
7303 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7304 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7305 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7306 50), hide the cited text.
7308 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7309 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7310 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7315 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7316 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7317 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7318 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7319 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7320 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7324 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7325 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7326 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7328 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7329 citation customization.
7331 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7335 @node Article Washing
7336 @subsection Article Washing
7338 @cindex article washing
7340 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7341 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7343 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7344 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7347 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7348 articles by default.
7353 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7354 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7358 @kindex W l (Summary)
7359 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7360 Remove page breaks from the current article
7361 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7365 @kindex W r (Summary)
7366 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7367 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7368 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7369 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7370 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7371 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7373 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7374 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7375 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7376 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7380 @kindex W t (Summary)
7382 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7383 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7384 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7387 @kindex W v (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7389 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7390 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7393 @kindex W o (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7395 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7398 @kindex W d (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7400 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7402 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7404 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7405 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7406 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7407 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7410 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7411 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7412 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7413 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7416 @kindex W w (Summary)
7417 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7418 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7420 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7424 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7426 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7429 @kindex W C (Summary)
7430 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7431 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7432 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7435 @kindex W c (Summary)
7436 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7437 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7438 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7439 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7440 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7443 @kindex W q (Summary)
7444 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7445 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7446 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7447 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7448 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7449 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7450 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7451 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7454 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7456 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7457 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7458 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7459 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7460 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7464 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7465 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7466 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7467 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7468 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7471 @kindex W h (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7473 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7474 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7475 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7479 @kindex W f (Summary)
7481 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7482 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7483 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7484 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7491 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7492 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7493 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7494 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7495 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7496 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7497 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7498 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7499 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7500 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7501 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7502 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7503 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7504 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7505 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7506 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7507 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7508 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7509 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7510 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7514 @kindex W b (Summary)
7515 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7516 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7517 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7520 @kindex W B (Summary)
7521 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7522 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7523 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7526 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7528 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7529 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7532 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7533 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7534 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7535 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7538 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7539 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7540 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7541 lines with a single empty line.
7542 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7545 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7546 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7547 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7548 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7551 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7552 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7553 Do all the three commands above
7554 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7557 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7558 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7559 Remove all blank lines
7560 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7563 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7564 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7565 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7566 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7569 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7570 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7571 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7572 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7576 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7579 @node Article Buttons
7580 @subsection Article Buttons
7583 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7584 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7585 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7586 button on these references.
7588 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7589 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7590 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7595 @item gnus-button-alist
7596 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7597 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7600 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7606 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7607 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7608 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7611 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7612 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7613 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7616 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7617 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7618 avoid false matches.
7621 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7624 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7625 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7629 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7632 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7635 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7636 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7637 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7638 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7639 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7642 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7645 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7647 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7648 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7649 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7650 default values of the variables above.
7652 @item gnus-article-button-face
7653 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7654 Face used on buttons.
7656 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7657 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7658 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7662 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7666 @subsection Article Date
7668 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7669 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7670 when the article was sent.
7675 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7677 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7678 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7681 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7682 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7684 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7685 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7688 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7689 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7690 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7693 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7695 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
7696 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
7699 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7700 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7701 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7702 @findex format-time-string
7703 Display the date using a user-defined format
7704 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7705 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7706 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7707 for a list of possible format specs.
7710 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7711 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7712 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7713 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7714 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7715 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7718 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7721 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7722 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7725 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7726 into wonderful absurdities.
7728 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7731 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7734 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7735 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7739 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7740 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7741 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7742 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7743 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7744 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7745 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7749 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7750 preferred format automatically.
7753 @node Article Signature
7754 @subsection Article Signature
7756 @cindex article signature
7758 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7759 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7760 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7761 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7762 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7763 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7764 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7765 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7766 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7769 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7770 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7771 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7772 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7773 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7774 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7775 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7776 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7779 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7782 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7783 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7784 signature when displaying articles.
7788 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7791 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7794 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7795 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7797 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7798 in question is not a signature.
7801 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7802 listed above. Here's an example:
7805 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7806 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7809 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7810 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7811 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7812 signature after all.
7815 @node Article Miscellania
7816 @subsection Article Miscellania
7820 @kindex A t (Summary)
7821 @findex gnus-article-babel
7822 Translate the article from one language to another
7823 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7829 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7830 @cindex MIME decoding
7832 @cindex viewing attachments
7834 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7835 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7841 @kindex K v (Summary)
7842 View the @sc{mime} part.
7845 @kindex K o (Summary)
7846 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7849 @kindex K c (Summary)
7850 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7853 @kindex K e (Summary)
7854 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7857 @kindex K i (Summary)
7858 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7861 @kindex K | (Summary)
7862 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7865 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7870 @kindex K b (Summary)
7871 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7872 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7876 @kindex K m (Summary)
7877 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7878 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7879 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7880 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7881 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7884 @kindex X m (Summary)
7885 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7886 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7887 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7888 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7891 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7892 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7893 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7894 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7897 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7898 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7899 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7902 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7903 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7904 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7906 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7907 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7908 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7909 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7910 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7911 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7914 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7915 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7916 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7923 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7924 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7925 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7926 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7929 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7932 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7936 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7937 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7938 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7939 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7940 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7942 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7943 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7944 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7945 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7946 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7947 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7948 save all jpegs into some directory).
7950 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7953 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7954 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7956 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7957 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7958 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7959 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7960 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7963 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7964 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7965 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7974 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7975 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7976 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7977 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7978 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7979 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7980 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7982 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7983 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7984 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7985 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7987 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7988 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7989 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7990 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7991 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7992 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7993 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7994 something some agents insist on having in there.
7996 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7997 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7998 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7999 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8000 quoted-printable header encoding.
8002 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8003 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8004 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8008 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8011 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8012 means encode all charsets),
8014 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8015 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8016 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8023 @cindex coding system aliases
8024 @cindex preferred charset
8026 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8028 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8029 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8032 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8033 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8036 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8037 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8039 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8042 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8045 This will almost do the right thing.
8047 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8051 (codepage-setup 1251)
8052 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8056 @node Article Commands
8057 @section Article Commands
8064 @kindex A P (Summary)
8065 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8066 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8067 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8068 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8069 run just before printing the buffer.
8074 @node Summary Sorting
8075 @section Summary Sorting
8076 @cindex summary sorting
8078 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8079 can't really see why you'd want that.
8084 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8085 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8086 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8089 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8090 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8091 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8094 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8095 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8096 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8099 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8101 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8104 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8106 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8109 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8110 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8111 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8114 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8115 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8116 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8119 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8120 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8121 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8122 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8123 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8127 @node Finding the Parent
8128 @section Finding the Parent
8129 @cindex parent articles
8130 @cindex referring articles
8135 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8136 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8137 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8138 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8139 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8140 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8141 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8142 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8143 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8145 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8146 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8147 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8148 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8149 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8153 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8154 @kindex A R (Summary)
8155 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8156 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8159 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8160 @kindex A T (Summary)
8161 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8162 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8163 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8164 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8165 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8166 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8167 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8169 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8170 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8171 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8172 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8173 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8174 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8177 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8178 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8180 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8181 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8182 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8183 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8184 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8185 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8186 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8189 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8190 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8191 by giving this command a prefix.
8193 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8194 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8195 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8196 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8197 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8198 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8201 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8202 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8203 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8206 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8207 then ask Deja if that fails:
8210 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8212 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8215 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8216 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8217 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8218 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8219 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8220 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8223 @node Alternative Approaches
8224 @section Alternative Approaches
8226 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8227 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8230 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8231 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8236 @subsection Pick and Read
8237 @cindex pick and read
8239 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8240 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8241 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8242 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8244 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8245 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8246 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8247 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8248 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8249 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8251 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8256 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8257 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8258 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8259 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8260 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8261 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8262 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8263 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8266 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8267 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8268 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8269 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8273 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8274 Unpick the thread or article
8275 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8276 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8277 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8278 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8279 the thread or article at that line.
8283 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8284 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8285 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8286 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8287 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8288 will still be visible when you are reading.
8292 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8293 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8294 which is mapped to the same function
8295 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8297 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8300 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8303 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8304 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8306 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8307 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8308 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8310 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8311 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8312 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8313 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8314 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8315 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8316 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8320 @subsection Binary Groups
8321 @cindex binary groups
8323 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8324 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8325 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8326 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8327 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8328 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8329 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8332 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8333 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8334 command, when you have turned on this mode
8335 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8337 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8338 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8342 @section Tree Display
8345 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8346 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8347 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8348 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8351 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8354 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8355 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8356 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8358 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8359 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8360 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8361 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8362 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8364 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8365 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8366 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8367 default is @code{modeline}.
8369 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8370 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8371 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8372 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8373 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8374 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8375 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8381 The name of the poster.
8383 The @code{From} header.
8385 The number of the article.
8387 The opening bracket.
8389 The closing bracket.
8394 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8396 Variables related to the display are:
8399 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8400 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8401 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8402 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8403 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8404 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8406 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8407 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8408 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8409 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8413 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8414 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8415 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8416 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8417 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8418 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8419 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8420 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8421 other windows displayed next to it.
8423 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8424 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8425 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8426 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8427 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8428 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8429 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8433 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8436 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8446 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8450 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8451 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8453 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8455 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8460 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8461 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8462 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8465 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8466 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8467 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8468 (gnus-add-configuration
8472 (summary 0.75 point)
8477 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8480 @node Mail Group Commands
8481 @section Mail Group Commands
8482 @cindex mail group commands
8484 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8485 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8487 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8488 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8493 @kindex B e (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8495 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8496 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8499 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8501 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8502 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8503 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8504 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8507 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8508 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8509 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8510 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8511 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8512 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8515 @kindex B m (Summary)
8517 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8518 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8519 Move the article from one mail group to another
8520 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8521 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8524 @kindex B c (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8527 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8528 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8529 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8530 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8533 @kindex B B (Summary)
8534 @cindex crosspost mail
8535 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8536 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8537 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8538 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8539 be properly updated.
8542 @kindex B i (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8544 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8545 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8546 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8549 @kindex B r (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8551 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8552 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8553 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8554 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8555 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8556 (which is the default).
8560 @kindex B w (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8563 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8564 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8565 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8566 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8567 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8570 @kindex B q (Summary)
8571 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8572 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8573 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8574 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8577 @kindex B t (Summary)
8578 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8579 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8580 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8583 @kindex B p (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8585 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8586 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8587 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8588 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8589 article from your news server (or rather, from
8590 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8591 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8592 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8593 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8594 just not have arrived yet.
8598 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8599 @cindex moving articles
8600 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8601 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8602 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8603 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8604 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8605 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8606 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8609 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8610 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8611 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8612 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8616 @node Various Summary Stuff
8617 @section Various Summary Stuff
8620 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8621 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8622 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8623 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8627 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8628 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8629 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8631 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8632 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8633 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8634 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8635 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8636 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8639 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8640 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8641 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8642 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8643 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8645 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8646 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8647 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8650 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8651 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8652 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8653 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8654 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8655 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8656 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8657 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8658 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8659 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8661 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8662 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8663 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8664 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8665 list of articles to be selected.
8667 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8668 the list in one particular group:
8671 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8672 (if (string= group "some.group")
8673 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8680 @node Summary Group Information
8681 @subsection Summary Group Information
8686 @kindex H f (Summary)
8687 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8688 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8689 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8690 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8691 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8692 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8693 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8694 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8695 be used for fetching the file.
8698 @kindex H d (Summary)
8699 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8700 Give a brief description of the current group
8701 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8702 rereading the description from the server.
8705 @kindex H h (Summary)
8706 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8707 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8708 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8711 @kindex H i (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8713 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8717 @node Searching for Articles
8718 @subsection Searching for Articles
8723 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8725 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8726 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8729 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8730 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8731 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8732 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8736 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8737 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8738 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8739 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8740 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8741 search backward instead.
8743 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8744 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8747 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8748 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8749 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8750 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8753 @node Summary Generation Commands
8754 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8759 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8760 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8761 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8764 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8765 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8766 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8767 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8772 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8773 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8779 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8780 @kindex A D (Summary)
8781 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8782 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8783 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8784 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8785 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8786 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8787 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8788 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8792 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8794 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8795 several documents into one biiig group
8796 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8797 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8798 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8799 command understands the process/prefix convention
8800 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8803 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8805 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8806 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8807 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8808 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8812 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8813 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8814 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8817 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8818 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8819 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8820 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8823 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8824 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8825 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8826 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8831 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8832 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8833 @cindex summary exit
8834 @cindex exiting groups
8836 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8837 group and return you to the group buffer.
8843 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8845 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8846 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8847 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8848 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8849 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8850 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8851 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8852 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8853 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8854 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8855 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8859 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8861 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8862 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8863 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8867 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8869 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8870 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8871 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8872 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8875 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8876 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8877 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8878 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8881 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8882 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8883 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8884 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8887 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8888 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8889 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8890 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8891 all articles, both read and unread.
8895 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8896 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8898 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8899 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8900 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8901 articles, both read and unread.
8904 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8905 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8906 Exit the group and go to the next group
8907 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8910 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8911 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8912 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8913 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8916 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8917 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8918 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8919 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8920 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8921 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8924 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8925 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8926 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8927 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8929 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8930 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8931 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8932 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8933 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8934 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8935 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8936 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8937 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8938 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8939 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8940 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8942 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8944 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8945 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8946 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8947 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8948 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8949 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8950 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8951 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8952 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8955 @node Crosspost Handling
8956 @section Crosspost Handling
8960 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8961 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8962 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8963 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8964 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8965 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8968 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8969 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8970 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8971 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8972 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8974 @cindex cross-posting
8977 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8978 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8979 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8980 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8981 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8982 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8983 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8984 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8985 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8986 the cross reference mechanism.
8988 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8989 @cindex overview.fmt
8990 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8991 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8992 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8993 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8994 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8995 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8998 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8999 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9000 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9005 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9008 @node Duplicate Suppression
9009 @section Duplicate Suppression
9011 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9012 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9013 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9014 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9019 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9020 is evil and not very common.
9023 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9024 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9027 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9028 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9031 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9034 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9035 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9037 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9038 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9039 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9040 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9041 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9042 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9043 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9046 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9047 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9048 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9049 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9050 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9054 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9055 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9056 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9058 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9059 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9060 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9061 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9062 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9063 session are suppressed.
9065 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9066 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9067 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9068 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9070 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9071 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9072 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9073 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9076 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9077 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9078 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9079 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9080 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9081 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9082 to you to figure out, I think.
9087 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9092 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9098 @item mm-verify-option
9099 @vindex mm-verify-option
9100 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9101 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9102 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9104 @item mm-decrypt-option
9105 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9106 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9107 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9108 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9112 @node The Article Buffer
9113 @chapter The Article Buffer
9114 @cindex article buffer
9116 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9117 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9118 tell Gnus otherwise.
9121 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9122 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9123 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9124 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9125 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9129 @node Hiding Headers
9130 @section Hiding Headers
9131 @cindex hiding headers
9132 @cindex deleting headers
9134 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9135 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9137 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9138 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9139 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9140 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9141 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9142 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9143 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9144 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9145 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9147 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9151 @item gnus-visible-headers
9152 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9153 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9154 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9155 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9157 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9158 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9161 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9164 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9167 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9168 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9169 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9170 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9171 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9172 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9174 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9175 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9178 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9181 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9184 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9185 variable will have no effect.
9189 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9190 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9191 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9192 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9193 the headers are to be displayed.
9195 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9196 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9199 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9202 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9203 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9205 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9206 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9207 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9208 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9209 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9210 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9211 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9214 These conditions are:
9217 Remove all empty headers.
9219 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9220 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9222 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9225 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9228 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9231 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9233 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9236 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9239 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9240 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9243 This is also the default value for this variable.
9247 @section Using @sc{mime}
9250 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9251 while people stand around yawning.
9253 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9254 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9256 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9257 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9258 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9260 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9261 @findex gnus-display-mime
9262 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9263 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9264 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9265 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9267 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9271 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9273 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9274 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9275 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9277 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9278 @item M-RET (Article)
9280 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9281 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9283 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9285 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9286 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9288 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9290 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9291 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9293 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9295 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9296 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9298 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9300 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9302 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9304 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9305 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9306 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9307 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9308 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9311 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9313 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9314 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9318 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9319 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9322 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9323 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9324 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9325 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9326 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9327 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9328 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9329 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9330 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9332 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9334 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9337 @node Customizing Articles
9338 @section Customizing Articles
9339 @cindex article customization
9341 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9342 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9343 called automatically when you select the articles.
9345 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9346 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9347 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9348 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9350 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9351 for sensible values.
9355 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9358 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9361 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9364 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9367 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9371 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9372 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9373 regexps in the list.
9376 A list where the first element is not a string:
9378 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9379 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9380 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9384 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9389 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9390 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9391 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9392 considered to contain just a single part.
9394 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9395 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9396 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9397 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9398 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9399 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9400 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9402 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9403 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9404 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9405 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9408 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9409 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9410 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9411 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9412 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9413 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9414 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9415 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9416 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9417 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9418 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9419 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9420 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9421 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9422 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9423 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9424 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9425 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9426 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9427 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9428 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9429 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9430 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9431 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9432 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9433 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9434 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9435 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9436 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9437 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9438 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9439 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9440 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9441 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9442 @item gnus-treat-translate
9445 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9446 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9447 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9448 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9449 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9453 @node Article Keymap
9454 @section Article Keymap
9456 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9457 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9458 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9459 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9462 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9467 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9468 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9469 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9472 @kindex DEL (Article)
9473 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9474 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9477 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9478 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9479 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9480 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9481 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9484 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9485 @findex gnus-article-mail
9486 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9487 given a prefix, include the mail.
9491 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9492 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9493 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9497 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9498 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9499 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9502 @kindex TAB (Article)
9503 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9504 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9505 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9508 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9509 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9510 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9516 @section Misc Article
9520 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9521 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9522 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9523 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9526 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9527 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9529 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9530 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9532 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9533 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9534 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9535 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9536 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9537 the contents of the article buffer.
9539 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9540 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9541 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9543 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9544 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9545 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9546 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9548 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9549 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9550 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9551 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9552 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9557 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9558 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9561 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9564 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9566 @item gnus-break-pages
9567 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9568 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9569 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9570 paging will not be done.
9572 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9573 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9574 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9579 @node Composing Messages
9580 @chapter Composing Messages
9581 @cindex composing messages
9584 @cindex sending mail
9590 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9591 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9592 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9593 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9594 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9595 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9598 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9599 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9600 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9601 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9602 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9603 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9604 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9605 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9608 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9609 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9615 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9618 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9619 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9620 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9621 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9623 @item gnus-add-to-list
9624 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9625 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9626 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9628 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9629 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9630 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9631 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9632 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9637 @node Posting Server
9638 @section Posting Server
9640 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9641 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9643 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9645 @vindex gnus-post-method
9647 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9648 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9649 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9650 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9651 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9654 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9657 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9658 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9659 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9660 the ``current'' server for posting.
9662 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9663 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9665 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9666 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9669 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9670 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9671 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9676 @section Mail and Post
9678 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9682 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9683 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9684 @cindex mailing lists
9686 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9687 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9688 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9689 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9690 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9691 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9692 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9693 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9694 still a pain, though.
9698 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9699 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9700 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9703 @findex ispell-message
9705 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9708 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9709 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9712 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9715 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9716 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9718 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9721 Modify to suit your needs.
9724 @node Archived Messages
9725 @section Archived Messages
9726 @cindex archived messages
9727 @cindex sent messages
9729 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9730 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9731 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9732 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9735 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9736 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9737 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9741 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9742 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9743 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9744 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9747 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9748 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
9749 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9750 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9753 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9754 '(nnfolder "archive"
9755 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9756 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9757 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9760 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9762 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9763 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9764 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9766 This variable can be used to do the following:
9770 Messages will be saved in that group.
9772 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9773 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9774 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9775 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9776 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9777 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9778 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9779 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9781 @item a list of strings
9782 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9783 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9784 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9786 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9791 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9793 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9796 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9798 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9801 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9803 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9804 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9805 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9806 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9811 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9812 '((if (message-news-p)
9817 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9818 messages in one file per month:
9821 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9822 '((if (message-news-p)
9824 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9827 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9828 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9830 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9831 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9832 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9833 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9834 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9835 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9836 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9837 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9838 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9839 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9841 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9842 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9843 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9844 this will disable archiving.
9847 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9848 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9849 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9850 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9851 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9854 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9855 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9856 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9859 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9860 but the latter is the preferred method.
9862 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9863 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9864 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
9869 @node Posting Styles
9870 @section Posting Styles
9871 @cindex posting styles
9874 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9876 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9877 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9878 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9881 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9882 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9883 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9884 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9885 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9890 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9891 (organization "What me?"))
9893 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9894 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9895 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9898 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9899 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9900 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9901 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9902 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9903 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9904 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9905 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9907 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9908 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9909 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9910 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9911 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9912 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9913 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9914 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9917 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9918 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9919 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9920 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9921 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9922 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9923 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9924 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9925 result is thrown away.
9927 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9928 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9929 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9930 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9931 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9932 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9934 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9935 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9936 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9938 @findex message-mail-p
9939 @findex message-news-p
9941 So here's a new example:
9944 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9946 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9948 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9949 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9951 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9952 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9953 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9955 (signature my-news-signature))
9956 (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
9957 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9958 ((posting-from-work-p)
9959 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9960 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9961 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9962 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9964 (From (save-excursion
9965 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
9966 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
9968 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9971 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
9972 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
9973 if you fill many roles.
9980 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9981 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9982 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9983 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9984 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9986 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9987 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9988 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9989 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9990 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9994 @vindex nndraft-directory
9995 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9996 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9997 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9998 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9999 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10000 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10002 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10003 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10006 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10007 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10008 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10009 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10010 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10011 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10012 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10013 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10014 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10015 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10016 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10017 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10018 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10019 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10021 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10022 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10023 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10025 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10026 @kindex D e (Draft)
10027 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10028 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10029 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10031 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10034 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10035 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10036 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10037 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10038 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10039 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10040 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10043 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10044 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10045 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10048 @node Rejected Articles
10049 @section Rejected Articles
10050 @cindex rejected articles
10052 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10053 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10054 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10055 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10057 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10058 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10059 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10060 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10061 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10063 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10064 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10065 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10071 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el} and
10072 @file{mml2015.el}. When viewing signed or encrypted messages, Gnus automatically
10073 asks if you want to verify or decrypt them.
10075 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10076 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10079 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10080 (setq gpg-temp-directory "~/.gnupg/tmp")
10083 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10084 to 700, for your own safety.
10086 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10087 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10091 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10094 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10095 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10098 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10101 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security menu or
10102 @kbd{M-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{M-m s s} to sign your
10103 message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{M-m c p} to encrypt your message with
10104 PGP/MIME and @kbd{M-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME.
10106 Gnus will ask for your passphrase three times and then it will send your
10107 message, if you've typed it correctly.
10110 @node Select Methods
10111 @chapter Select Methods
10112 @cindex foreign groups
10113 @cindex select methods
10115 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10116 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10117 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10118 personal mail group.
10120 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10121 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10122 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10123 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10124 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10125 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10127 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10128 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
10130 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10133 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10134 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10135 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10136 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10137 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10139 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10142 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10143 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10144 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10145 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10146 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10147 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10148 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10152 @node The Server Buffer
10153 @section The Server Buffer
10155 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10156 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10157 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10158 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10159 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10160 backend represents a virtual server.
10162 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10163 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10164 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10165 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10167 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10168 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10169 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10170 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10171 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10172 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10173 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10175 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10176 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10179 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10180 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10181 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10182 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10183 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10184 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10185 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10188 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10189 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10192 @node Server Buffer Format
10193 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10194 @cindex server buffer format
10196 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10197 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10198 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10199 variable, with some simple extensions:
10204 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10207 The name of this server.
10210 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10213 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10216 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10217 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10218 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10219 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10229 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10232 @node Server Commands
10233 @subsection Server Commands
10234 @cindex server commands
10240 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10241 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10245 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10246 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10249 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10250 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10251 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10255 @findex gnus-server-exit
10256 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10260 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10261 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10265 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10266 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10270 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10271 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10275 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10276 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10280 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10281 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10282 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10287 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10288 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10289 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10290 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10295 @node Example Methods
10296 @subsection Example Methods
10298 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10301 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10304 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10310 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10311 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10314 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10315 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10317 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10318 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10322 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10325 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10326 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10328 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10329 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10330 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10334 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10337 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10340 Here's the method for a public spool:
10344 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10345 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10351 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10352 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10353 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10354 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10355 should probably look something like this:
10359 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10360 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10361 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10362 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10363 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10366 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10367 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10368 server that would look something like this:
10372 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10373 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10374 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10375 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10376 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10377 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10380 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10381 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10382 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10383 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10386 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10387 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10389 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10390 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10392 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10393 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10394 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10396 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10398 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10399 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10400 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10401 will contain the following:
10411 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10412 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10413 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10416 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10417 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10418 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10421 @node Server Variables
10422 @subsection Server Variables
10424 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10425 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10426 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10427 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10428 won't change the "derived" variables.
10430 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10431 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10432 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10433 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10434 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10435 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10436 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10437 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10438 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10442 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10443 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10444 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10448 @node Servers and Methods
10449 @subsection Servers and Methods
10451 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10452 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10453 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10454 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10458 @node Unavailable Servers
10459 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10461 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10462 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10463 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10464 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10465 actually the case or not.
10467 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10468 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10469 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10470 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10471 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10472 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10473 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10474 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10476 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10477 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10479 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10480 with the following commands:
10486 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10487 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10488 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10492 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10493 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10494 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10498 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10499 Mark the current server as unreachable
10500 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10503 @kindex M-o (Server)
10504 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10505 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10506 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10509 @kindex M-c (Server)
10510 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10511 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10512 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10516 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10517 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10518 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10524 @section Getting News
10525 @cindex reading news
10526 @cindex news backends
10528 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10529 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10530 or it can read from a local spool.
10533 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10534 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10539 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10542 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10543 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10544 server as the, uhm, address.
10546 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10547 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10548 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10549 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10551 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10552 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10553 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10555 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10560 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10561 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10562 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10564 @cindex authentification
10565 @cindex nntp authentification
10566 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10567 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10568 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10569 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10570 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10571 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10572 present in this hook.
10574 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10575 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10576 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10577 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10578 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10579 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10580 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10581 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10582 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10583 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10584 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10585 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10589 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10592 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10594 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10595 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
10596 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10597 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10598 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10599 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
10600 @samp{force} is explained below.
10604 Here's an example file:
10607 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10608 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10611 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10612 have to be first, for instance.
10614 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10615 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10616 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10617 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10618 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10619 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10620 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10622 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10623 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10629 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10630 previously mentioned.
10632 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10634 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10635 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10636 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10637 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10638 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10641 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10642 '(("innd" (ding))))
10645 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10647 The default value is
10650 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10651 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10654 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10655 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10657 @item nntp-maximum-request
10658 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10659 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10660 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10661 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10662 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10663 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10664 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10666 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10667 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10668 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10669 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10670 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10671 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10672 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10673 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10674 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10675 no timeouts are done.
10677 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10678 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10679 @c @cindex PPP connections
10680 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10681 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10682 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10683 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10684 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10685 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10686 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10687 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10688 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10689 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10691 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10692 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10693 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10694 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10695 @c described above.
10697 @item nntp-server-hook
10698 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10699 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10702 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10703 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10704 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10705 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10706 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10707 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10708 functions are supplied:
10711 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10712 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10715 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10716 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10717 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10720 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10724 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10725 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10726 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10727 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10729 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10730 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10731 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10733 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10734 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10735 User name on the remote system.
10739 @item nntp-open-telnet
10740 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10741 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10743 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10746 @item nntp-telnet-command
10747 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10748 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10750 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10751 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10752 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10754 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10755 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10756 User name for log in on the remote system.
10758 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10759 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10760 Password to use when logging in.
10762 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10763 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10764 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10767 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10768 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10769 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10770 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10772 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10773 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10774 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10775 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10776 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10780 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10781 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10782 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10783 you must have SSLay installed
10784 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10785 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
10786 define a server as follows:
10789 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10791 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10793 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10794 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10795 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10796 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10801 @item nntp-end-of-line
10802 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10803 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10804 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10805 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10807 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10808 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10809 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10813 @vindex nntp-address
10814 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10816 @item nntp-port-number
10817 @vindex nntp-port-number
10818 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10821 @item nntp-buggy-select
10822 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10823 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10825 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10826 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10827 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10828 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10831 @item nntp-xover-commands
10832 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10835 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10836 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10840 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10841 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10842 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10843 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10844 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10845 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10846 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10847 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10848 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10849 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10850 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10852 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10853 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10854 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10856 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10857 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10858 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10859 server closes connection.
10861 @item nntp-record-commands
10862 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10863 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10864 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10865 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10866 that doesn't seem to work.
10872 @subsection News Spool
10876 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10877 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10878 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10881 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10882 anything else) as the address.
10884 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10885 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10886 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10887 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10891 @item nnspool-inews-program
10892 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10893 Program used to post an article.
10895 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10896 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10897 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10899 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10900 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10901 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10902 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10904 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10905 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10906 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10907 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10909 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10910 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10911 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10913 @item nnspool-active-file
10914 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10915 The path to the active file.
10917 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10918 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10919 The path to the group descriptions file.
10921 @item nnspool-history-file
10922 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10923 The path to the news history file.
10925 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10926 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10927 The path to the active date file.
10929 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10930 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10931 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10934 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10935 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10937 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10938 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10939 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10945 @section Getting Mail
10946 @cindex reading mail
10949 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10953 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10954 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10955 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10956 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10957 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10958 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10959 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10960 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10961 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10962 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10963 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10964 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10965 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10969 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10970 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10972 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10973 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10974 of a culture shock.
10976 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10977 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10979 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10980 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10981 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10982 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10984 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10986 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10987 deleted? How awful!
10989 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10990 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10991 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10992 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10995 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10996 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10997 they want to treat a message.
10999 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11000 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11001 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11002 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11003 archived somewhere else.
11005 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11006 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11007 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11008 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11009 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11011 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11012 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11013 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11015 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11016 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11019 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11020 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11021 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11022 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11023 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11025 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11026 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11027 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11028 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11029 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11030 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11034 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11035 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11037 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11038 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11039 and things will happen automatically.
11041 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11042 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11045 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11046 '((nnml "private")))
11049 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11050 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11051 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11052 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11053 like any other group.
11055 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11058 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11059 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11060 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11064 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11065 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11066 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11069 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11070 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11071 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11074 @node Splitting Mail
11075 @subsection Splitting Mail
11076 @cindex splitting mail
11077 @cindex mail splitting
11079 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11080 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11081 to be split into groups.
11084 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11085 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11086 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11087 ("mail.other" "")))
11090 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11091 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11092 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11093 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11094 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11095 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11096 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11099 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11102 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11103 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11104 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11105 mail belongs in that group.
11107 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11108 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11109 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11110 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11111 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11112 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11114 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11115 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11116 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11117 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11118 thinks should carry this mail message.
11120 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11121 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11122 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11123 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11125 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11126 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11127 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11128 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11129 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11131 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11134 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11135 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11136 links. If that's the case for you, set
11137 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11138 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11140 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11141 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11142 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11143 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11144 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11145 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11148 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11149 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11150 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11151 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11152 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11153 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11154 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11155 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11156 month's rent money.
11160 @subsection Mail Sources
11162 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11163 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11167 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11168 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11169 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11173 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11174 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11176 @cindex mail server
11179 @cindex mail source
11181 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11182 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11187 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11190 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11191 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11192 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11195 The following mail source types are available:
11199 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11205 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11206 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11209 An example file mail source:
11212 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11215 Or using the default path:
11221 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11222 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11223 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11226 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11230 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11233 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11237 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11240 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11242 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11245 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11249 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11250 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11251 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11252 scan the mail source only once.
11258 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11262 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11266 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11267 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11268 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11269 predicate are considered.
11273 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11277 An example directory mail source:
11280 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11285 Get mail from a POP server.
11291 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11292 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11295 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11296 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11297 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11298 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11299 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11302 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11306 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11310 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11311 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11314 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11317 The valid format specifier characters are:
11321 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11322 included in this string.
11325 The name of the server.
11328 The port number of the server.
11331 The user name to use.
11334 The password to use.
11337 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11338 corresponding keywords.
11341 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11342 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11345 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11346 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11349 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11350 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11353 @item :authentication
11354 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11355 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11360 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11361 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11363 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11364 default user name, and default fetcher:
11370 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11373 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11374 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11377 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11380 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11384 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11385 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11386 contains exactly one mail.
11392 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11393 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11396 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11397 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11399 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11400 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11401 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11404 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11405 from locking problems).
11409 Two example maildir mail sources:
11412 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11416 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11420 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11421 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11422 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11423 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11429 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11430 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11433 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11434 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11437 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11441 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11445 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11446 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11447 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11449 @item :authentication
11450 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11451 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11452 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11456 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11457 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11460 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11461 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11462 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11463 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11464 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11465 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11468 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11469 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11470 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11471 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11474 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11475 after finishing the fetch.
11479 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11482 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11486 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11487 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11489 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11492 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11493 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11495 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11501 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11502 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11505 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11509 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11513 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11514 folder after finishing the fetch.
11518 An example webmail source:
11521 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11526 @item Common Keywords
11527 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11533 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11534 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11538 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11543 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11544 useful when you use local mail and news.
11549 @subsubsection Function Interface
11551 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11552 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11553 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11554 consider the following mail-source setting:
11557 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11558 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11561 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11562 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11563 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11564 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11565 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11567 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11570 @node Mail Source Customization
11571 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11573 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11574 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11578 @item mail-source-crash-box
11579 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11580 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11581 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11583 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11584 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11585 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11587 @item mail-source-directory
11588 @vindex mail-source-directory
11589 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11590 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11591 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11594 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11595 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11596 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11597 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11598 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11599 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11601 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11602 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11603 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11608 @node Fetching Mail
11609 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11611 @vindex mail-sources
11612 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11613 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11614 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11615 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11617 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11618 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11621 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11622 mail server, you'd say something like:
11627 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11628 :password "secret")))
11631 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11635 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11636 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11639 :password "secret")))
11643 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11644 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11645 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11646 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11647 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11648 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11652 @node Mail Backend Variables
11653 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11655 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11659 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11660 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11661 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11662 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11664 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11665 @item nnmail-split-hook
11666 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11667 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11668 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11669 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11670 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11671 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11672 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11673 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11674 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11677 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11678 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11679 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11680 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11681 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11682 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11683 starting to handle the new mail) and
11684 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11685 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11686 default file modes the new mail files get:
11689 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11690 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11692 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11693 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11696 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11697 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11698 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11699 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11700 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11701 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11702 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11704 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11705 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11706 @findex delete-file
11707 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11709 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11710 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11711 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11712 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11713 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11718 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11719 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11720 @cindex mail splitting
11721 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11723 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11724 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11725 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11726 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11727 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11728 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11730 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11733 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11734 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11735 ;; from real errors.
11736 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11738 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11739 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11740 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11741 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11742 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11743 ;; Other mailing lists...
11744 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11745 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11746 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11747 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11748 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11749 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11750 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11751 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11753 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11754 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11758 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11759 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11760 the five possible split syntaxes:
11765 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11766 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11770 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11771 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11772 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11773 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11774 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11775 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11776 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11777 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11780 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11781 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11782 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11783 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11786 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11787 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11790 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11791 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11794 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11795 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11796 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11797 function should return a @var{split}.
11799 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11800 body of the messages:
11803 (defun split-on-body ()
11805 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11806 (goto-char (point-min))
11807 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11812 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11813 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11814 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11818 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11822 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11823 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11824 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11825 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11826 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11828 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11829 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11830 are expanded as specified by the variable
11831 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11832 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11835 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11836 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11837 when all this splitting is performed.
11839 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11840 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11841 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11844 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11847 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11848 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11850 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11851 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11852 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11853 groupings 1 through 9.
11855 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
11856 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
11857 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
11858 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
11859 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
11860 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
11861 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
11862 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
11863 it once per thread.
11865 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
11866 non-nil value. And then you can include
11867 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
11869 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11870 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
11871 ;; other splits go here
11875 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
11876 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
11877 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
11878 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
11879 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
11880 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
11881 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
11882 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
11883 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
11884 is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
11885 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
11886 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
11888 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11889 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
11890 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
11891 messages goes into the new group.
11894 @node Group Mail Splitting
11895 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11896 @cindex mail splitting
11897 @cindex group mail splitting
11899 @findex gnus-group-split
11900 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11901 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11902 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11903 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11904 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11905 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11906 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11907 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11909 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11910 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11911 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11912 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11914 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11915 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11916 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11917 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11918 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11919 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11920 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11922 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11923 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11924 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11925 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11926 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11927 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11928 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11930 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11931 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11932 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11933 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11934 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11935 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11936 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
11937 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
11938 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
11939 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
11940 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
11941 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
11942 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
11944 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11949 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11950 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11952 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11953 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11954 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11955 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11957 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11960 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11961 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11962 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11965 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11966 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11967 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11971 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11972 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11973 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11977 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11980 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11981 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11982 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11983 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
11984 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
11985 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11986 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11987 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11988 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11990 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11991 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11992 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11993 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11994 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11995 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11996 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11997 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11998 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12000 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12001 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12002 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12003 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12004 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12005 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12008 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12011 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12012 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12013 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12014 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12015 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12018 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12019 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12020 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12021 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12023 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12024 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12026 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12027 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12028 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12031 Doing so can be quite easy.
12033 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12034 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12035 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12036 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12037 your @code{nnml} groups.
12043 Go to the group buffer.
12046 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12047 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12050 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12053 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12054 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12057 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12058 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12061 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12062 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12063 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12064 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12065 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12067 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12068 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12069 using the new mail backend.
12072 @node Expiring Mail
12073 @subsection Expiring Mail
12074 @cindex article expiry
12076 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12077 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12078 different approach to mail reading.
12080 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12081 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12082 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12083 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12084 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12085 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12088 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12089 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12090 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12091 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12092 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12093 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12094 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12095 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12097 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12098 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12099 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12100 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12101 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12102 column in the summary buffer.
12104 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12105 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12106 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12107 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12110 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12112 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12113 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12114 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12117 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12118 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12119 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12120 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12121 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12123 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12124 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12127 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12128 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12131 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12132 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12134 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12135 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12136 don't really mix very well.
12138 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12139 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12140 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12141 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12144 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12145 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12146 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12147 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12150 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12152 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12154 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12156 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12158 ((string= group "important")
12164 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12165 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12167 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12168 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12169 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12172 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12173 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12175 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12176 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12177 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12178 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12179 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12180 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12181 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12182 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12183 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12184 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12185 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12186 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12189 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12191 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12195 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12196 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12197 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12198 easier for procmail users.
12200 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12201 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12202 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12203 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12204 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12205 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12206 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12207 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12208 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12209 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12210 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12211 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12212 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12215 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12217 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12218 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12219 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12220 auto-expire turned on.
12224 @subsection Washing Mail
12225 @cindex mail washing
12226 @cindex list server brain damage
12227 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12229 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12230 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12231 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12232 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12233 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12234 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12236 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12237 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12238 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12241 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12242 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12243 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12244 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12247 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12248 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12249 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12250 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12251 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12254 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12255 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12256 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12257 Emacs running on MS machines.
12261 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12262 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12263 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12264 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12267 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12268 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12269 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12270 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12272 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12273 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12274 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12275 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12276 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12277 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12278 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12281 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12282 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12285 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12286 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12289 This can also be done non-destructively with
12290 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12292 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12293 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12294 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12296 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12297 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12299 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12300 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12301 @code{References} headers.
12305 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12306 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12307 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12311 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12312 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12313 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12320 @subsection Duplicates
12322 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12323 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12324 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12325 @cindex duplicate mails
12326 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12327 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12328 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12329 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12330 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12331 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12332 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12333 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12334 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12335 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12336 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12337 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12338 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12340 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12341 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12342 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12343 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12345 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12348 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12349 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12353 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12354 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12355 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12356 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12357 (any mail "mail.misc")
12364 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12365 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12370 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12371 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12372 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12373 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12374 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12377 @node Not Reading Mail
12378 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12380 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12381 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12382 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12384 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12385 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12386 mail, which should help.
12388 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12389 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12390 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12391 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12392 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12393 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12394 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12395 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12396 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12397 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12398 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12400 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12401 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12405 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12406 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12408 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12409 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12410 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12412 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12413 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12414 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12415 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12418 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12419 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12420 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12421 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12422 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12423 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12427 @node Unix Mail Box
12428 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12430 @cindex unix mail box
12432 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12433 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12434 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12435 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12436 which group it belongs in.
12438 Virtual server settings:
12441 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12442 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12443 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12445 @item nnmbox-active-file
12446 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12447 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12449 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12450 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12451 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12457 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12461 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12462 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12463 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12464 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12465 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12467 Virtual server settings:
12470 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12471 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12472 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12474 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12475 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12476 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12478 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12479 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12480 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12485 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12487 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12489 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12490 format. It should be used with some caution.
12492 @vindex nnml-directory
12493 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12494 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12495 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12496 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12498 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12501 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12502 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12503 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12504 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12505 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12506 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12507 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12508 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12510 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12511 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12512 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12513 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12515 Virtual server settings:
12518 @item nnml-directory
12519 @vindex nnml-directory
12520 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12522 @item nnml-active-file
12523 @vindex nnml-active-file
12524 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12526 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12527 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12528 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12531 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12532 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12533 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12535 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12536 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12537 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12539 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12540 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12541 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12543 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12544 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12545 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12549 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12550 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12551 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12552 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12553 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12554 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12555 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12560 @subsubsection MH Spool
12562 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12564 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12565 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12566 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12567 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12569 Virtual server settings:
12572 @item nnmh-directory
12573 @vindex nnmh-directory
12574 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12576 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12577 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12578 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12581 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12582 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12583 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12584 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12585 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12586 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12587 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12592 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12594 @cindex mbox folders
12595 @cindex mail folders
12597 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12598 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12599 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12602 Virtual server settings:
12605 @item nnfolder-directory
12606 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12607 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12609 @item nnfolder-active-file
12610 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12611 The name of the active file.
12613 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12614 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12615 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12617 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12618 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12619 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12621 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12622 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12623 @cindex backup files
12624 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12625 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12626 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12627 your @file{.emacs} file:
12630 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12631 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12633 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12636 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12637 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12638 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12639 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12640 extract some information from it before removing it.
12642 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12643 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12644 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12649 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12650 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12651 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12652 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12653 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12654 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12657 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12658 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12660 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12661 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12662 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12663 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12664 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12666 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12667 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12668 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12669 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12670 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12671 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12672 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12673 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12676 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12677 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12678 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12679 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12684 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12685 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12686 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12687 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12688 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12689 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12690 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12691 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12692 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12693 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12694 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12695 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12696 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12701 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12702 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12703 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12704 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12705 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12706 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12707 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12708 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12709 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12710 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12711 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12712 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12713 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12714 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12716 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12717 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12722 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12723 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12724 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12725 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12726 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12727 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12728 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12729 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12730 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12731 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12732 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12733 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12734 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12735 provided by the active file and overviews.
12737 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12738 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12739 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12740 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12741 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12744 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12745 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12750 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12751 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12752 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12753 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12754 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12755 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12756 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12760 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12761 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12762 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12763 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12764 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12765 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12766 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12767 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12768 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12770 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12771 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12772 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12773 friendly mail backend all over.
12778 @node Browsing the Web
12779 @section Browsing the Web
12781 @cindex browsing the web
12785 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12786 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12787 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12788 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12789 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12790 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12791 even know what a news group is.
12793 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12794 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12795 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12796 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12797 you mad in the end.
12799 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12802 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12803 interfaces to these sources.
12806 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12807 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12808 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12809 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12810 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12813 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12815 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12816 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12817 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12818 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12819 though, you should be ok.
12821 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12822 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12823 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12824 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12825 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12829 @subsection Web Searches
12833 @cindex InReference
12834 @cindex Usenet searches
12835 @cindex searching the Usenet
12837 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12838 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12839 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12840 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12841 searches without having to use a browser.
12843 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12844 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12845 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12846 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12847 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12849 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12850 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12851 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12852 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12853 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12854 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12855 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12856 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12857 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12858 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12861 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12862 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12863 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12864 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12865 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12866 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12868 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12869 to use @code{nnweb}.
12871 Virtual server variables:
12876 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12877 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12881 @vindex nnweb-search
12882 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12884 @item nnweb-max-hits
12885 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12886 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12889 @item nnweb-type-definition
12890 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12891 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12892 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12897 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12901 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12904 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12907 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12911 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12918 @subsection Slashdot
12922 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12923 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12924 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12926 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12927 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12930 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12931 '((nnslashdot "")))
12934 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12935 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12936 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12937 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12938 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12941 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12942 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12944 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12945 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12946 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12947 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12948 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12949 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12952 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12955 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12956 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12957 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12958 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12959 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12960 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12961 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12963 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12964 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12965 The login name to use when posting.
12967 @item nnslashdot-password
12968 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12969 The password to use when posting.
12971 @item nnslashdot-directory
12972 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12973 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12974 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12976 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12977 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12978 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12979 news articles and comments. The default is
12980 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12982 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12983 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12984 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12986 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12988 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12989 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12990 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12992 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12994 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12995 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12996 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12998 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12999 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13000 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13001 updated. The default is 0.
13008 @subsection Ultimate
13010 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13012 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13013 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13014 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13015 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13017 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13018 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13019 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13020 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13021 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13022 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13023 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13025 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13028 @item nnultimate-directory
13029 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13030 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13031 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13036 @subsection Web Archive
13038 @cindex Web Archive
13040 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13041 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13042 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13043 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13046 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13047 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13048 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13049 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13050 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13051 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13052 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13054 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13057 @item nnwarchive-directory
13058 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13059 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13060 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13062 @item nnwarchive-login
13063 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13064 The account name on the web server.
13066 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13067 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13068 The password for your account on the web server.
13072 @node Customizing w3
13073 @subsection Customizing w3
13079 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13080 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13081 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13083 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13084 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13085 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13088 (eval-after-load "w3"
13090 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13091 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13092 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13093 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13095 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13098 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13099 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13103 @node Other Sources
13104 @section Other Sources
13106 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13107 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13111 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13112 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13113 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13114 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13115 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13116 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13120 @node Directory Groups
13121 @subsection Directory Groups
13123 @cindex directory groups
13125 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13126 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13129 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13130 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13131 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13132 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13134 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13135 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13136 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13137 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13138 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13140 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13142 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13143 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13144 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13145 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13148 @node Anything Groups
13149 @subsection Anything Groups
13152 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13153 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13154 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13157 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13158 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13159 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13160 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13161 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13162 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13163 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13164 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13165 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13166 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13169 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13170 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13171 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13172 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13174 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13175 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13176 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13177 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13179 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13180 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13181 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13182 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13183 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13184 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13185 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13186 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13191 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13192 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13193 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13194 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13196 @item nneething-exclude-files
13197 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13198 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13199 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13201 @item nneething-include-files
13202 @vindex nneething-include-files
13203 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13204 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13206 @item nneething-map-file
13207 @vindex nneething-map-file
13208 Name of the map files.
13212 @node Document Groups
13213 @subsection Document Groups
13215 @cindex documentation group
13218 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13219 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13226 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13231 The standard Unix mbox file.
13233 @cindex MMDF mail box
13235 The MMDF mail box format.
13238 Several news articles appended into a file.
13241 @cindex rnews batch files
13242 The rnews batch transport format.
13243 @cindex forwarded messages
13246 Forwarded articles.
13249 Netscape mail boxes.
13252 MIME multipart messages.
13254 @item standard-digest
13255 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13258 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13261 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13262 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13263 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13266 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13267 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13268 group. And that's it.
13270 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13271 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13272 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13273 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13274 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13275 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13276 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13277 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13278 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13279 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13281 Virtual server variables:
13284 @item nndoc-article-type
13285 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13286 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13287 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13288 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13289 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13291 @item nndoc-post-type
13292 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13293 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13294 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13299 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13303 @node Document Server Internals
13304 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13306 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13307 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13308 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13309 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13311 First, here's an example document type definition:
13315 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13316 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13319 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13320 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13321 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13322 types can be defined with very few settings:
13325 @item first-article
13326 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13327 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13330 @item article-begin
13331 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13332 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13334 @item head-begin-function
13335 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13338 @item nndoc-head-begin
13339 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13342 @item nndoc-head-end
13343 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13344 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13346 @item body-begin-function
13347 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13351 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13354 @item body-end-function
13355 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13359 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13362 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13363 regexp will be totally ignored.
13367 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13368 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13369 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13370 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13371 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13374 @item prepare-body-function
13375 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13376 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13377 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13379 @item article-transform-function
13380 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13381 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13382 body of the article.
13384 @item generate-head-function
13385 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13386 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13387 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13388 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13392 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13397 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13398 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13399 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13400 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13401 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13402 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13403 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13404 (subtype digest guess))
13407 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13408 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13409 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13410 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13411 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13413 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13414 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13415 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13416 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13417 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
13418 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13419 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13420 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13421 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13422 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13430 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13431 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13432 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13434 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13435 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13436 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13439 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13440 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13441 that interested in doing things properly.
13443 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13444 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13447 First some terminology:
13452 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13453 get news and/or mail from.
13456 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13457 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13460 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13464 @item message packets
13465 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13466 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13467 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13469 @item response packets
13470 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13471 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13472 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13482 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13483 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13484 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13485 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13488 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13491 You put the packet in your home directory.
13494 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13495 the native or secondary server.
13498 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13499 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13502 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13506 You transfer this packet to the server.
13509 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13512 You then repeat until you die.
13516 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13517 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13520 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13521 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13522 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13526 @node SOUP Commands
13527 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13529 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13533 @kindex G s b (Group)
13534 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13535 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13536 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13537 process/prefix convention.
13540 @kindex G s w (Group)
13541 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13542 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13545 @kindex G s s (Group)
13546 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13547 Send all replies from the replies packet
13548 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13551 @kindex G s p (Group)
13552 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13553 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13556 @kindex G s r (Group)
13557 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13558 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13561 @kindex O s (Summary)
13562 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13563 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13564 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13565 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13570 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13575 @item gnus-soup-directory
13576 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13577 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13578 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13580 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13581 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13582 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13583 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13585 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13586 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13587 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13588 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13590 @item gnus-soup-packer
13591 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13592 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13593 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13595 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13596 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13597 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13598 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13600 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13601 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13602 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13604 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13605 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13606 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13607 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13613 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13616 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13617 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13618 you can read them at leisure.
13620 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13624 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13625 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13626 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13627 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13629 @item nnsoup-directory
13630 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13631 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13632 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13634 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13635 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13636 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13637 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13639 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13640 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13641 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13642 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13643 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13645 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13646 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13647 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13648 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13650 @item nnsoup-active-file
13651 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13652 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13653 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13654 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13655 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13657 @item nnsoup-packer
13658 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13659 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13660 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13662 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13663 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13664 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13665 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13667 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13668 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13669 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13672 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13673 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13674 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13677 @item nnsoup-always-save
13678 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13679 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13685 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13687 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13688 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13689 more for that to happen.
13691 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13692 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13693 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13696 In specific, this is what it does:
13699 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13700 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13703 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13704 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13705 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13708 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13709 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13710 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13713 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13714 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13715 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13717 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13723 @item nngateway-address
13724 @vindex nngateway-address
13725 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13727 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13728 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13729 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13730 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13731 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13732 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13733 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13736 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13737 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13738 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13741 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13744 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13747 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13750 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13752 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13755 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13756 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13757 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13759 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13761 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13762 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13763 @code{nngateway-address}.
13768 (setq gnus-post-method
13769 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13770 (nngateway-header-transformation
13771 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13779 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13782 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13788 @subsection @sc{imap}
13792 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13793 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13794 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13795 network address of the server.
13797 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13798 might look something like this:
13801 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13802 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13803 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13805 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13806 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13807 ; a UW server running on localhost
13809 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13810 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13811 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13812 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13813 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13814 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13815 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13816 (nnimap-stream network))
13817 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13819 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13820 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13821 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13824 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13829 @item nnimap-address
13830 @vindex nnimap-address
13832 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13833 server name if not specified.
13835 @item nnimap-server-port
13836 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13837 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13839 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13842 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13843 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13846 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13847 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13848 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13849 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13850 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13851 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13852 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13854 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13855 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13856 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13859 Example server specification:
13862 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13863 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13864 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13867 @item nnimap-stream
13868 @vindex nnimap-stream
13869 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13870 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13871 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13872 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13874 Example server specification:
13877 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13878 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13881 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13885 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13886 @samp{imtest} program.
13888 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13890 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13891 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13894 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13895 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13897 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13899 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13902 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13903 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13904 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13905 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13908 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13909 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13910 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13911 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
13912 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13913 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13914 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13917 @vindex imap-shell-program
13918 @vindex imap-shell-host
13919 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13920 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13922 @item nnimap-authenticator
13923 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13925 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13926 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13928 Example server specification:
13931 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13932 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13935 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13939 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13940 external program @code{imtest}.
13942 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13945 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13946 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13948 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13950 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13952 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13955 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13957 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13958 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13959 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13960 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13961 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13962 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13965 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13966 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13967 running in circles yet?
13969 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13970 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13973 The possible options are:
13978 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13981 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13982 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13983 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13984 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13986 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13991 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13992 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
13994 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
13995 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
13996 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
13998 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
13999 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14000 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14006 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14007 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14008 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14013 @node Splitting in IMAP
14014 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14015 @cindex splitting imap mail
14017 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14018 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14019 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14020 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14021 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14025 Here are the variables of interest:
14029 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14030 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14032 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14034 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14035 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14037 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14039 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14040 @cindex splitting, inbox
14042 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14044 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14045 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14049 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14050 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14053 No nnmail equivalent.
14055 @item nnimap-split-rule
14056 @cindex Splitting, rules
14057 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14059 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14062 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14063 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14064 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14065 Neither did I, we need examples.
14068 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14069 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14070 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14071 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14074 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14075 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14076 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
14078 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14079 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14083 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14086 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14087 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14088 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14089 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14091 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14092 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14093 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14094 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
14095 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14096 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14098 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14099 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14100 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14102 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14103 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14104 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14106 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14108 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14109 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14110 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14113 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14114 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14115 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14116 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14117 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14118 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14121 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14122 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14123 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14124 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14125 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14126 group/function elements.
14128 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14130 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14132 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14134 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14135 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14137 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14138 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14139 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14142 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14143 @cindex splitting, fancy
14144 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14145 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14147 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14148 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14149 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14151 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14152 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14153 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14154 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14159 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14160 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14163 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14167 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14168 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14169 @cindex editing imap acls
14170 @cindex Access Control Lists
14171 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14173 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14175 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14176 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14177 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14180 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14181 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14182 editing window with detailed instructions.
14184 Some possible uses:
14188 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14189 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14190 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14192 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14193 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14194 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14198 @node Expunging mailboxes
14199 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14203 @cindex Manual expunging
14205 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14207 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
14208 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14209 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14211 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14216 @node Combined Groups
14217 @section Combined Groups
14219 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14223 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14224 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14228 @node Virtual Groups
14229 @subsection Virtual Groups
14231 @cindex virtual groups
14232 @cindex merging groups
14234 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14237 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14238 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14239 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14241 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14242 regexp to match component groups.
14244 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14245 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14246 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14247 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14248 the virtual group.)
14250 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14251 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14254 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14257 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14258 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14260 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14261 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14262 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14263 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14266 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14269 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14270 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14271 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14273 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14274 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14275 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14276 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14277 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14279 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14280 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14281 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14283 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14284 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14285 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14286 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14287 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14288 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14289 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14290 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14291 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14292 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14293 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14295 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14296 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14297 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14298 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14299 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14300 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14301 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14303 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14304 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14308 @node Kibozed Groups
14309 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14313 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14314 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14315 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14316 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14318 @kindex G k (Group)
14319 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14322 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14323 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14324 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14325 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14327 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14328 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14329 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14331 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14332 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14333 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14334 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14335 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14336 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14337 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14338 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14340 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14341 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14342 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14343 Stranger things have happened.
14345 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14346 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14348 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14349 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14350 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14351 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14352 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14353 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14355 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14356 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14359 @node Gnus Unplugged
14360 @section Gnus Unplugged
14365 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14367 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14368 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14369 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14370 read news. Believe it or not.
14372 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14373 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14374 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14375 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14376 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14378 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14379 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14380 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14381 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14382 reading news on a machine.
14384 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14388 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14389 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14393 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14394 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14401 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14403 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14406 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14407 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14408 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14409 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14410 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14411 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14412 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14413 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14414 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14415 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14420 @subsection Agent Basics
14422 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14424 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14425 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14426 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14427 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14429 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14430 connected to the net continuously.
14432 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14433 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14435 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14440 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14441 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14442 already fetched while in this mode.
14445 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14446 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14447 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14448 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14449 Source Specifiers}).
14452 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14453 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14454 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14455 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14456 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14459 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14460 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14461 then you read the news offline.
14464 And then you go to step 2.
14467 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14473 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14474 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14475 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14476 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14477 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14478 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14481 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14488 @node Agent Categories
14489 @subsection Agent Categories
14491 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14492 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14493 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14494 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14495 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14496 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14497 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14499 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14500 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14501 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14502 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14503 managing categories.
14506 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14507 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14508 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14512 @node Category Syntax
14513 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14515 A category consists of two things.
14519 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14520 are eligible for downloading; and
14523 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14524 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14525 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14528 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14529 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14530 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14531 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14533 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14534 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14535 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
14537 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14538 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14539 operators sprinkled in between.
14541 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14543 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14544 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14550 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14551 short (for some value of ``short'').
14553 Here's a more complex predicate:
14562 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14563 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14566 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14567 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14568 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14570 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14571 you want to do, you can write your own.
14575 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14576 lines; default 100.
14579 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14580 lines; default 200.
14583 True iff the article has a download score less than
14584 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14587 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14588 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14591 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14592 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14593 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14602 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14603 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14604 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14607 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14608 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14609 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14610 something along the lines of the following:
14613 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14614 "Say whether an article is old."
14615 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14616 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14619 with the predicate then defined as:
14622 (not my-article-old-p)
14625 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14626 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14627 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14628 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14631 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
14632 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14633 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14636 and simply specify your predicate as:
14642 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14643 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14644 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14645 just don't give a damn.
14647 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14648 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14649 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14650 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14651 parameters like so:
14654 (agent-predicate . short)
14657 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14658 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14659 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14661 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14664 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14667 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14668 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14669 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14672 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14673 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14674 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14675 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14676 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14677 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14679 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14680 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14681 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14682 if it's to be specific to that group.
14684 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14691 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14692 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14698 Category specification
14702 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14708 Group Parameter specification
14711 (agent-score ("from"
14712 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14717 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14723 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14730 Category specification
14733 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14739 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14743 Group Parameter specification
14746 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14749 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14754 Use @code{normal} score files
14756 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14757 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14758 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14759 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14761 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14762 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14763 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14764 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14768 Category Specification
14775 Group Parameter specification
14778 (agent-score . file)
14783 @node The Category Buffer
14784 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14786 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14787 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14788 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14790 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14794 @kindex q (Category)
14795 @findex gnus-category-exit
14796 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14799 @kindex k (Category)
14800 @findex gnus-category-kill
14801 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14804 @kindex c (Category)
14805 @findex gnus-category-copy
14806 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14809 @kindex a (Category)
14810 @findex gnus-category-add
14811 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14814 @kindex p (Category)
14815 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14816 Edit the predicate of the current category
14817 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14820 @kindex g (Category)
14821 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14822 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14823 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14826 @kindex s (Category)
14827 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14828 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14829 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14832 @kindex l (Category)
14833 @findex gnus-category-list
14834 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14838 @node Category Variables
14839 @subsubsection Category Variables
14842 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14843 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14844 Hook run in category buffers.
14846 @item gnus-category-line-format
14847 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14848 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14849 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14853 The name of the category.
14856 The number of groups in the category.
14859 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14860 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14861 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14863 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14864 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14865 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14867 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14868 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14869 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14871 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14872 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14873 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14876 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14877 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14878 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14884 @node Agent Commands
14885 @subsection Agent Commands
14887 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14888 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14889 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14893 * Group Agent Commands::
14894 * Summary Agent Commands::
14895 * Server Agent Commands::
14898 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14899 following incantation:
14901 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14903 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14908 @node Group Agent Commands
14909 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14913 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14914 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14915 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14916 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14919 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14920 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14921 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14924 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14925 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14926 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14927 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14930 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14931 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14932 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14933 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14936 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14937 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14938 Add the current group to an Agent category
14939 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14940 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14943 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14944 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14945 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14946 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14947 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14950 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
14951 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14952 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
14958 @node Summary Agent Commands
14959 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14963 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14964 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14965 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14968 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14969 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14970 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14971 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14974 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14975 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14976 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14979 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14980 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14981 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14986 @node Server Agent Commands
14987 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14991 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14992 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14993 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14994 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14997 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14998 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14999 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15000 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15006 @subsection Agent Expiry
15008 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15009 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15010 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15011 @cindex Agent expiry
15012 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15015 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15016 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15017 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15018 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15019 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15020 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15022 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15023 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15024 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15025 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15026 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15029 @node Agent and IMAP
15030 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15032 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However, since
15033 there are some conceptual differences between NNTP and IMAP, this
15034 section (should) provide you with some information to make Gnus Agent
15035 work smoother as a IMAP Disconnected Mode client.
15037 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15038 are kept on the IMAP server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15039 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15040 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15042 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15043 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15044 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15045 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15046 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15048 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15049 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15050 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15051 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15052 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15053 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15055 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15056 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15057 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15058 in the group buffer by default.
15060 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15061 expect from a disconnected IMAP client, including:
15066 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15069 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15073 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15074 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15075 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15076 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15077 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15078 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15079 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15080 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15083 @node Outgoing Messages
15084 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15086 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15087 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15088 after posting, and edit them at will.
15090 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15091 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15092 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15093 messages in the draft group.
15097 @node Agent Variables
15098 @subsection Agent Variables
15101 @item gnus-agent-directory
15102 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15103 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15104 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15106 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15107 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15108 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15109 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15110 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15113 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15114 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15115 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15117 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15118 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15119 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15124 @node Example Setup
15125 @subsection Example Setup
15127 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15128 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15129 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15132 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15133 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15134 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15136 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15137 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15138 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15140 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15141 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15143 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15147 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15148 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15151 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15152 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15153 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15154 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15155 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15158 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15159 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15160 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15161 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15162 back all the killed groups.)
15164 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15165 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15166 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15169 @node Batching Agents
15170 @subsection Batching Agents
15172 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15173 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15174 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15178 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15182 @node Agent Caveats
15183 @subsection Agent Caveats
15185 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15186 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15190 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15195 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15196 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15202 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15203 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15210 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15211 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15212 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15215 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15216 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15217 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15218 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15219 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15221 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15222 before generating the summary buffer.
15224 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15225 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15226 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15228 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15229 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15230 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15231 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15234 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15235 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15236 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15237 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15238 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15239 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15240 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15241 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15242 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15243 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15244 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15245 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15246 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15247 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15248 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15249 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15253 @node Summary Score Commands
15254 @section Summary Score Commands
15255 @cindex score commands
15257 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15258 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15259 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15260 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15261 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15263 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15264 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15265 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15266 score file the current one.
15268 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15273 @kindex V s (Summary)
15274 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15275 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15278 @kindex V S (Summary)
15279 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15280 Display the score of the current article
15281 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15284 @kindex V t (Summary)
15285 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15286 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15287 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15290 @kindex V R (Summary)
15291 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15292 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15293 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15294 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15295 effect you're having.
15298 @kindex V c (Summary)
15299 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15300 Make a different score file the current
15301 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15304 @kindex V e (Summary)
15305 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15306 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15307 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15311 @kindex V f (Summary)
15312 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15313 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15314 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15317 @kindex V F (Summary)
15318 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15319 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15320 after editing score files.
15323 @kindex V C (Summary)
15324 @findex gnus-score-customize
15325 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15326 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15330 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15335 @kindex V m (Summary)
15336 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15337 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15338 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15341 @kindex V x (Summary)
15342 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15343 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15344 expunge all articles below this score
15345 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15348 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15349 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15352 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15353 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15357 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15358 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15360 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15361 keys are available:
15365 Score on the author name.
15368 Score on the subject line.
15371 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15374 Score on the @code{References} line.
15380 Score on the number of lines.
15383 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15386 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15387 the followups to this author.
15401 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15402 what headers you are scoring on.
15414 Substring matching.
15417 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15446 Greater than number.
15451 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15452 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15453 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15457 Temporary score entry.
15460 Permanent score entry.
15463 Immediately scoring.
15468 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15469 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15470 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15471 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15473 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15474 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15475 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15476 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15477 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15479 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15480 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15481 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15482 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15483 current score file.
15485 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15486 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15487 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15490 @node Group Score Commands
15491 @section Group Score Commands
15492 @cindex group score commands
15494 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15499 @kindex W f (Group)
15500 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15501 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15502 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15503 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15507 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15509 @findex gnus-batch-score
15510 @cindex batch scoring
15512 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15516 @node Score Variables
15517 @section Score Variables
15518 @cindex score variables
15522 @item gnus-use-scoring
15523 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15524 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15525 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15527 @item gnus-kill-killed
15528 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15529 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15530 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15531 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15532 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15533 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15534 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15536 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15537 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15538 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15539 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15540 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15542 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15543 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15544 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15545 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15547 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15548 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15549 @cindex score cache
15550 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15551 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15552 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
15553 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15554 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15555 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15558 @item gnus-save-score
15559 @vindex gnus-save-score
15560 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15561 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15562 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15564 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15565 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15566 across group visits.
15568 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15569 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15570 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15571 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15572 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15573 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15574 manually entered data.
15576 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15577 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15578 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15580 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15581 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15582 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15583 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15584 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15585 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15587 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15588 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15589 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15590 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15592 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15593 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15594 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15595 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15597 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15598 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15599 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15600 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15602 Predefined functions available are:
15605 @item gnus-score-find-single
15606 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15607 Only apply the group's own score file.
15609 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15610 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15611 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15612 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15613 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15614 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15615 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15616 then a regexp match is done.
15618 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15619 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15621 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15622 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15623 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15624 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15626 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15627 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15628 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15629 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15630 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15634 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15635 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15636 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15637 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15638 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15639 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15640 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15642 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15643 overall score file, you could use the value
15645 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15648 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15649 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15650 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15651 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15652 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15654 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15655 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15656 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15657 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15658 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15659 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15660 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15663 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15664 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15665 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15667 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15668 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15669 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15670 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15671 threading---according to the current value of
15672 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15673 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15674 simplified in this manner.
15679 @node Score File Format
15680 @section Score File Format
15681 @cindex score file format
15683 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15684 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15685 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15687 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15691 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15693 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15695 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15697 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15702 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15706 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15707 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15708 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15709 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15713 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15714 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15716 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15717 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15718 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15720 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15725 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15726 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15727 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15728 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15729 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15730 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15731 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15732 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15733 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15734 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15735 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15736 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15737 to articles that matches these score entries.
15739 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15740 score entry has one to four elements.
15744 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15745 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15749 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15750 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15751 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15752 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15753 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15754 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15757 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15758 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15759 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15760 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15761 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15764 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15765 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15766 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15767 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15770 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15771 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15772 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15773 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15774 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15775 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15776 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15777 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15778 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15779 instead, if you feel like.
15782 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15783 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15785 These predicates are true if
15788 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15791 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15792 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15799 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15800 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15801 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15802 it's not. I think.)
15804 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15805 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15806 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15807 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15810 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15811 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15812 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15813 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15814 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15815 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15816 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15820 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15821 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15822 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15823 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15824 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15825 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15826 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15827 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15830 @item Head, Body, All
15831 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15835 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15836 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15837 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15838 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15839 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15840 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15841 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15845 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15846 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15847 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15848 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15849 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15850 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15851 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15852 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15853 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15854 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15855 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15859 @cindex Score File Atoms
15861 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15862 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15865 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15866 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15868 @item mark-and-expunge
15869 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15870 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15873 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15874 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15875 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15876 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15877 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15880 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15881 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15884 @item exclude-files
15885 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15886 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15890 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15891 ignored when handling global score files.
15894 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15895 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15896 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15897 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15900 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15901 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15902 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15903 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15905 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15909 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15912 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15913 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15914 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15915 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15916 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15918 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15919 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15920 ordinary scoring rules.
15923 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15924 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15925 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15926 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15927 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15928 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15929 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15930 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15931 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15932 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15933 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15937 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15938 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15939 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15940 file for a number of groups.
15943 @cindex local variables
15944 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15945 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15946 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15947 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15948 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15952 @node Score File Editing
15953 @section Score File Editing
15955 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15956 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15957 with a mode for that.
15959 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15960 additional commands:
15965 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15966 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15967 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15968 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15971 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15972 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15973 Insert the current date in numerical format
15974 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15975 you were wondering.
15978 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15979 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15980 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15981 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15982 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15987 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15989 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15990 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15992 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15993 e} to begin editing score files.
15996 @node Adaptive Scoring
15997 @section Adaptive Scoring
15998 @cindex adaptive scoring
16000 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16001 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16002 stupidity, to be precise.
16004 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16005 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16006 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16007 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16008 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16009 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16010 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16011 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16012 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16014 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16015 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16016 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16017 might look something like this:
16020 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16021 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16022 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16023 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16024 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16025 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16026 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16027 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16028 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16029 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16030 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16031 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16034 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16035 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16036 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16037 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16038 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16039 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16042 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16043 will be applied to each article.
16045 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16046 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16047 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16048 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16050 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16051 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16052 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16053 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16055 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16056 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16057 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16058 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16060 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16061 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16062 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16063 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16064 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16065 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16067 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16068 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16069 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16070 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16071 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16072 aspirins afterwords.)
16074 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16075 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16076 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16078 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16079 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16080 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16082 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16083 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16084 let you use different rules in different groups.
16086 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16087 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16088 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16091 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16092 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16093 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16094 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16095 the length of the match is less than
16096 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16097 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16100 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16101 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16102 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16103 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16104 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16107 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16108 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16109 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16110 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16111 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16114 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16115 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16116 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16117 score with 30 points.
16119 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16120 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16121 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16122 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16123 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16125 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16126 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16127 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16128 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16130 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16131 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16132 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16133 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16135 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16136 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16137 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16138 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16139 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16141 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16142 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16143 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16145 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16146 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16147 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16148 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16151 @node Home Score File
16152 @section Home Score File
16154 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16155 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16156 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16157 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16159 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16160 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16161 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16163 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16164 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16169 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16173 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16174 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16178 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16182 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16183 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
16186 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16187 the home score file.
16190 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16193 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16198 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16201 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16202 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16205 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16206 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16208 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16210 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16211 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16214 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16215 Other functions include
16218 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16219 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16220 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16221 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16225 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16226 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16227 their own home score files:
16230 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16231 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16232 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16233 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16234 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16237 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16238 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16239 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16240 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16241 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16243 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16244 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16245 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16246 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16247 precedence over this variable.
16250 @node Followups To Yourself
16251 @section Followups To Yourself
16253 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16254 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16255 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16256 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16257 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16258 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16262 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16263 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16264 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16267 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16268 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16269 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16273 @vindex message-sent-hook
16274 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16275 @code{message-sent-hook}.
16277 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16278 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16282 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16283 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16286 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16287 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16292 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
16296 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16297 is system-dependent.
16301 @section Scoring Tips
16302 @cindex scoring tips
16308 @cindex scoring crossposts
16309 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16310 the @code{Xref} header.
16312 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16315 @item Multiple crossposts
16316 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16317 more than, say, 3 groups:
16319 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16322 @item Matching on the body
16323 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16324 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16325 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16326 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16327 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16328 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16329 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16332 @item Marking as read
16333 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16334 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16335 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16339 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16341 @item Negated character classes
16342 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16343 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16344 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16348 @node Reverse Scoring
16349 @section Reverse Scoring
16350 @cindex reverse scoring
16352 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16353 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16354 like this in your score file:
16358 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16363 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16364 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16367 @node Global Score Files
16368 @section Global Score Files
16369 @cindex global score files
16371 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16372 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16373 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16375 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16376 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16377 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16379 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16380 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16381 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16382 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16383 files are applicable to which group.
16385 Say you want to use the score file
16386 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16387 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16390 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16391 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16392 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16395 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16396 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16397 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16398 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16399 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16401 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16402 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16404 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16405 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16406 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16407 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16408 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16409 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16411 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16417 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16419 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16421 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16423 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16424 lowered out of existence.
16426 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16427 articles completely.
16430 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16431 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16432 old articles for a long time.
16435 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16436 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16437 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16438 holding our breath yet?
16442 @section Kill Files
16445 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16446 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16447 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16449 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16450 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16451 files into score files.
16453 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16454 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16455 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16456 that isn't a very good idea.
16458 Normal kill files look like this:
16461 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16462 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16466 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16467 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16469 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16470 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16473 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16478 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16479 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16480 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16483 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16484 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16485 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16488 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16493 @kindex M-k (Group)
16494 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16495 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16498 @kindex M-K (Group)
16499 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16500 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16503 Kill file variables:
16506 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16507 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16508 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16509 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16510 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16511 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16512 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16514 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16515 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16516 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16517 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16520 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16521 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16522 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16523 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16524 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16525 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16526 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16527 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16528 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16530 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16531 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16532 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16537 @node Converting Kill Files
16538 @section Converting Kill Files
16540 @cindex converting kill files
16542 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16543 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16544 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16547 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16548 You can fetch it from
16549 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16551 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16552 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16553 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16561 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16562 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16563 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16565 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16566 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16567 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16568 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16569 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16570 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16571 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16572 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16576 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16577 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16578 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16579 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16583 @node Using GroupLens
16584 @subsection Using GroupLens
16586 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16588 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16589 better bit in town at the moment.
16591 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16595 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16596 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16597 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16598 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16600 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16601 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16602 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16603 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16605 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16606 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16607 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16611 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16612 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16613 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16614 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16615 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16616 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16619 @node Rating Articles
16620 @subsection Rating Articles
16622 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16623 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16624 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16625 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16628 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16633 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16634 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16635 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16638 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16639 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16640 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16641 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16642 threads in rec.humor.
16646 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16647 the score of the article you're reading.
16652 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16653 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16654 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16657 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16658 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16659 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16663 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16664 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16667 @node Displaying Predictions
16668 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16670 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16671 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16672 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16673 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16674 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16676 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16677 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16678 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16679 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16680 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16681 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16682 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16683 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16684 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16685 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16686 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16687 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16688 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16690 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16691 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16692 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16693 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16695 The following are valid values for that variable.
16698 @item prediction-spot
16699 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16702 @item confidence-interval
16703 A numeric confidence interval.
16705 @item prediction-bar
16706 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16708 @item confidence-bar
16709 Numerical confidence.
16711 @item confidence-spot
16712 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16714 @item prediction-num
16715 Plain-old numeric value.
16717 @item confidence-plus-minus
16718 Prediction +/- confidence.
16723 @node GroupLens Variables
16724 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16728 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16729 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16730 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16731 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16734 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16735 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16738 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16739 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16741 @item grouplens-score-offset
16742 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16743 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16746 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16747 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16748 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16753 @node Advanced Scoring
16754 @section Advanced Scoring
16756 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16757 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16758 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16759 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16760 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16762 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16766 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16767 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16768 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16772 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16773 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16775 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16776 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16777 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16778 non-@code{nil} value.
16780 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16781 operator, and various match operators.
16788 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16789 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16790 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16795 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16796 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16797 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16802 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16803 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16807 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16808 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16809 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16810 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16811 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16812 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16813 the ancestry you want to go.
16815 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16816 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16817 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16818 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16819 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16822 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16823 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16825 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16826 when he's talking about Gnus:
16830 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16831 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16837 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16841 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16848 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16849 really don't want to read what he's written:
16853 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16854 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16858 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16859 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16860 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16867 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16868 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16869 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16870 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16874 The possibilities are endless.
16877 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16878 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16880 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16881 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16882 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16883 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16884 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16885 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16886 @samp{subject}) first.
16888 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16889 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16900 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16901 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16907 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16914 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16915 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16920 @section Score Decays
16921 @cindex score decays
16924 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16925 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16926 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16927 use them in any sensible way.
16929 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16930 @findex gnus-decay-score
16931 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16932 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16933 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16934 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16935 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16936 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16937 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16938 definition of that function:
16941 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16943 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16944 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16947 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16949 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16951 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16954 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16955 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16956 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16957 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16961 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16964 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16967 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16971 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16972 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16973 the new score, which should be an integer.
16975 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16976 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16983 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16984 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16985 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16986 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16987 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16988 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16989 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16990 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16991 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16992 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
16993 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16994 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16995 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16996 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16997 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16998 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16999 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17000 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17004 @node Process/Prefix
17005 @section Process/Prefix
17006 @cindex process/prefix convention
17008 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17009 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17011 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17012 command to be performed on.
17016 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17017 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17018 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17019 with the current one.
17021 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17022 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17023 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17025 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17026 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17029 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17030 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17032 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17035 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17036 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17037 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17038 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17040 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17041 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17042 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17043 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17044 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17045 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17046 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17047 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17049 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17050 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17051 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17052 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17053 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17057 @section Interactive
17058 @cindex interaction
17062 @item gnus-novice-user
17063 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17064 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17065 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17066 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17067 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17070 @item gnus-expert-user
17071 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17072 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17073 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17074 matter how strange.
17076 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17077 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17078 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17079 is @code{t} by default.
17081 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17082 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17083 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17088 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17089 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17090 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17092 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17093 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17094 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17095 rule of 900 to the current article.
17097 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17098 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17099 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17100 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17101 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17102 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17103 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17105 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17106 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17107 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17108 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17109 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17110 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17111 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17112 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17113 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17115 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17116 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17117 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17119 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17123 @node Formatting Variables
17124 @section Formatting Variables
17125 @cindex formatting variables
17127 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17128 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17129 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17130 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17131 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17134 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17135 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17136 lots of percentages everywhere.
17139 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17140 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17141 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17142 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17143 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17146 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17147 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17148 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17149 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17150 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17151 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17152 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17153 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17155 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17156 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17158 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17159 @findex gnus-update-format
17160 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17161 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17162 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17163 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17167 @node Formatting Basics
17168 @subsection Formatting Basics
17170 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17171 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17172 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17174 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17175 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17176 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17177 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17178 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17181 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17182 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17183 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17184 less than 4 characters wide.
17187 @node Mode Line Formatting
17188 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17190 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17191 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17192 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17193 with the following two differences:
17198 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17201 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17202 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17203 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17204 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17205 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17206 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17207 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17212 @node Advanced Formatting
17213 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17215 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17216 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17217 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17218 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17220 These are the valid modifiers:
17225 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17229 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17234 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17237 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17242 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17245 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17248 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17251 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17255 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17256 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17257 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17258 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17259 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17260 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17261 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17263 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17264 last operation, padding.
17266 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
17267 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
17268 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
17269 @xref{Compilation}.
17272 @node User-Defined Specs
17273 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17275 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17276 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17277 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17278 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17279 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17280 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17281 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17282 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17283 should protect against that.
17285 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17286 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17287 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17288 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17292 @node Formatting Fonts
17293 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17295 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17296 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17297 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17298 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17301 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17302 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17303 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17304 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17305 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17306 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17308 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17309 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17310 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17311 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17312 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17313 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17314 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17315 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17317 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17320 ;; Create three face types.
17321 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17322 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17324 ;; We want the article count to be in
17325 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17326 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17327 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17329 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17330 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17332 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17333 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17334 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17337 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17338 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17340 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17341 mode-line variables.
17344 @node Windows Configuration
17345 @section Windows Configuration
17346 @cindex windows configuration
17348 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17350 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17351 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17352 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17353 @code{t} by default.
17355 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17356 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17358 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17359 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17360 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17363 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17364 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17365 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17369 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17370 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17371 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17372 possible names is listed below.
17374 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17375 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17378 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17382 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17383 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17384 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17385 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17386 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17387 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17388 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17389 size spec per split.
17391 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17392 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17393 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17394 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17395 present) gets focus.
17397 Here's a more complicated example:
17400 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17401 (summary 0.25 point)
17402 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17406 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17407 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17408 occupy, not a percentage.
17410 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17411 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17412 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17413 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17414 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17417 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17420 (article (horizontal 1.0
17425 (summary 0.25 point)
17430 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17431 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17433 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17434 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17435 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17436 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17437 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17439 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17440 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17441 lines from the splits.
17443 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17447 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17448 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17449 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17450 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17451 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17452 size = number | frame-params
17453 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17456 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17457 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17458 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17459 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17461 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17462 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17463 @cindex window height
17464 @cindex window width
17465 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17466 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17467 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17468 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17469 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17470 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17472 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17473 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17474 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17475 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17477 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17478 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17479 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17480 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17481 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17482 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17483 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17484 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17485 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17486 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17487 configuration list.
17490 (gnus-configure-frame
17494 (article 0.3 point))
17502 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17503 @code{frame} split:
17506 (gnus-configure-frame
17509 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17511 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17512 (user-position . t)
17513 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17518 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17519 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17520 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17521 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17522 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17523 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17524 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17525 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17527 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17528 be found in its default value.
17530 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17531 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17532 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17536 (message (horizontal 1.0
17537 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17539 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17544 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17545 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17546 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17549 (message (frame 1.0
17550 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17551 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17552 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17553 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17554 (name . "Message"))
17555 (message 1.0 point))))
17558 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17559 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17560 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17561 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17562 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17565 (gnus-add-configuration
17566 '(article (vertical 1.0
17568 (summary .25 point)
17572 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17573 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17574 Gnus has been loaded.
17576 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17577 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17578 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17579 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17580 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17582 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17583 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17584 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17587 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17591 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17592 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
17607 (gnus-add-configuration
17610 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17612 (summary 0.16 point)
17615 (gnus-add-configuration
17618 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17619 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
17625 @node Faces and Fonts
17626 @section Faces and Fonts
17631 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17632 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17633 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17638 @section Compilation
17639 @cindex compilation
17640 @cindex byte-compilation
17642 @findex gnus-compile
17644 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17645 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17646 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17647 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17648 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17649 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17652 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17653 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17654 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17655 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17656 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17657 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17658 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17662 @section Mode Lines
17665 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17666 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17667 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17668 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17669 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17670 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17671 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17674 @cindex display-time
17676 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17677 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17678 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17679 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17680 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17681 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17682 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17683 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17686 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17688 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17689 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17691 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17692 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17693 (length display-time-string)))))
17696 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17697 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17698 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17699 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17700 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17703 @node Highlighting and Menus
17704 @section Highlighting and Menus
17706 @cindex highlighting
17709 @vindex gnus-visual
17710 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17711 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17712 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17715 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17716 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17719 @item group-highlight
17720 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17721 @item summary-highlight
17722 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17723 @item article-highlight
17724 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17726 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17728 Create menus in the group buffer.
17730 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17732 Create menus in the article buffer.
17734 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17736 Create menus in the server buffer.
17738 Create menus in the score buffers.
17740 Create menus in all buffers.
17743 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17744 buffers, you could say something like:
17747 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17750 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17753 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17756 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17757 in all Gnus buffers.
17759 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17762 @item gnus-mouse-face
17763 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17764 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17765 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17769 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17773 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17774 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17775 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17777 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17778 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17779 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17781 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17782 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17783 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17785 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17786 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17787 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17789 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17790 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17791 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17793 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17794 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17795 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17806 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17807 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17808 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17809 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17810 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17814 @vindex gnus-carpal
17815 Well, you can make Gnus display buffer fulls of buttons you can click to
17816 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17817 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17822 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17823 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17824 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17826 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17827 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17828 Face used on buttons.
17830 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17831 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17832 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17834 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17835 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17836 Buttons in the group buffer.
17838 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17839 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17840 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17842 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17843 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17844 Buttons in the server buffer.
17846 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17847 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17848 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17851 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17852 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17853 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17861 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17862 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17863 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17864 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17865 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17867 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17868 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17869 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17871 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17872 been idle for thirty minutes:
17875 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17878 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17882 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17885 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17886 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17887 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17889 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17890 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17891 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17892 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17894 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17895 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17896 @var{idle} minutes.
17898 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17899 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17902 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17903 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17904 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17906 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17907 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17908 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17909 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17911 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17912 your @file{.gnus} file:
17914 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17916 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17919 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17920 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17921 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17922 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17923 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17924 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17925 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17926 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17927 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17928 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17929 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17931 @findex gnus-demon-init
17932 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17933 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17934 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17935 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17936 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17938 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17939 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17940 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17949 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17950 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17952 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17953 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17954 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17955 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17958 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17959 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17960 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17961 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17963 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17964 this will make spam disappear.
17966 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17969 @item gnus-use-nocem
17970 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17971 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17974 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17975 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17976 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17977 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17978 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17980 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17981 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17982 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17983 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17984 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
17985 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17987 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
17988 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
17990 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17991 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17992 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17993 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17994 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17995 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17996 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17997 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17998 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17999 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18001 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18002 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18005 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18008 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18009 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18012 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18015 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18018 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18019 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18021 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18022 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18023 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18024 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18026 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18027 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18030 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18032 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18040 This might be dangerous, though.
18042 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18043 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18044 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18045 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18047 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18048 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18049 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18050 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18051 might then see old spam.
18053 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18054 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18055 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18056 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18057 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18060 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18061 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18062 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18063 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18067 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18068 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18069 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18070 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18077 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18078 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18079 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18081 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18082 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18083 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18084 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18085 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18086 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18087 @code{undo} function.
18089 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18090 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18091 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18092 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18093 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18094 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18095 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18096 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18097 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18098 never be totally undoable.
18100 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18101 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18103 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18104 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18105 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
18106 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18111 @section Moderation
18114 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18115 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18116 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18119 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18123 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18126 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18128 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18133 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18134 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18135 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18138 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18139 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18142 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18143 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18147 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18150 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18151 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18155 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18156 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18159 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18163 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18164 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18165 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18166 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18179 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18180 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18181 over your shoulder as you read news.
18184 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18185 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18186 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18187 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18188 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18193 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18195 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18204 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18205 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18206 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18207 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18208 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18209 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18210 @code{GIF} formats.
18213 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18214 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18215 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18216 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18217 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18219 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18220 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18221 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18222 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18223 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18224 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18227 @node Picon Requirements
18228 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18230 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18231 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18234 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18235 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18236 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18238 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18239 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18240 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18241 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18242 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18246 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18248 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18249 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18252 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18253 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18256 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18257 containing the Picons databases.
18259 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18262 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18263 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18268 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18276 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18277 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18278 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18279 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18280 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18285 @item gnus-picons-database
18286 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18287 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18288 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18289 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18290 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18291 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18293 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18294 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18295 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18296 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18297 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18298 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18299 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18301 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18302 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18303 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18304 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18305 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18306 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18307 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18308 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18310 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18311 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18312 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18317 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18318 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18320 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18321 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18324 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18326 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18327 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18328 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18329 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18331 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18332 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18333 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18339 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18340 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18348 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18349 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18350 don't need to worry about.
18354 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18355 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18356 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18357 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18359 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18360 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18361 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18362 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18364 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18365 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18366 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18367 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18368 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18370 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18371 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18372 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18373 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18374 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18375 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18376 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18378 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18379 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18380 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18381 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18383 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18384 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18385 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18386 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18387 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18388 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18389 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18391 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18392 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18393 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18394 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18396 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18397 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18398 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18399 Defaults to @code{t}.
18401 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18402 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18403 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18404 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18406 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18407 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18408 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18410 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18411 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18412 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18413 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18415 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18416 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
18418 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18419 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18420 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18421 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18422 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18423 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18424 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18425 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18436 @subsection Smileys
18441 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18446 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18447 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18449 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18450 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18453 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18456 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18457 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18458 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18459 text and maps that to file names.
18461 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18462 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18463 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18464 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18465 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18466 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18468 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18469 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18471 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18472 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18473 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18475 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18476 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18480 @item smiley-data-directory
18481 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18482 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18484 @item smiley-flesh-color
18485 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18486 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18488 @item smiley-features-color
18489 @vindex smiley-features-color
18490 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18492 @item smiley-tongue-color
18493 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18494 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18496 @item smiley-circle-color
18497 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18498 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18500 @item smiley-mouse-face
18501 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18502 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18508 @subsection Toolbar
18518 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18519 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18520 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18521 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18522 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18524 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18525 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18526 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18528 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18529 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18530 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18532 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18533 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18534 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18540 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18543 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18544 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18545 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18546 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18547 unusual directory structure.
18549 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18550 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18551 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18552 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18554 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18555 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18556 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18557 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18558 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18559 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18561 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18562 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18563 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18577 @node Fuzzy Matching
18578 @section Fuzzy Matching
18579 @cindex fuzzy matching
18581 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18582 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18584 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18585 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18586 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18588 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18589 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18590 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18591 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18592 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18595 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18596 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18600 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18602 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18603 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18604 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18605 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18606 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18607 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18608 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18609 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18612 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18613 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18614 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18615 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18616 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18617 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18621 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18622 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18624 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18625 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18626 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18627 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18628 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18629 part of the mail address.)
18632 (setq message-default-news-headers
18633 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18636 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18637 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18642 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18643 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18644 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18650 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18651 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18652 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18653 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18655 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18656 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18657 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18658 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18659 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18660 your fancy split rule in this way:
18665 (to "larsi" "misc")
18669 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18670 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18671 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18672 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18673 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18675 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18676 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18677 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
18678 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18679 cosmic balance somewhat.
18681 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18682 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18683 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18684 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18687 @node Various Various
18688 @section Various Various
18694 @item gnus-home-directory
18695 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18696 defaults to @file{~/}.
18698 @item gnus-directory
18699 @vindex gnus-directory
18700 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18701 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18702 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18704 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18705 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18706 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18707 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18709 @item gnus-default-directory
18710 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18711 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18712 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18713 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18714 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18715 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18716 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18719 @vindex gnus-verbose
18720 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18721 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18722 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18723 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18724 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18726 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18727 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18728 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18729 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18731 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18732 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18733 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18734 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18735 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18736 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18737 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18738 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18739 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18740 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18742 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18743 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18744 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18745 read when doing the operation described above.
18747 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18748 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18750 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18751 @cindex characters in file names
18752 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18753 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18754 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18757 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18761 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18762 Windows (phooey) systems.
18764 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18765 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18766 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18767 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18768 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18770 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18771 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18772 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18773 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18774 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18776 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18777 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18778 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18780 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18781 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18783 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18784 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18785 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18786 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18789 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18798 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18799 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18801 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18803 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18809 Not because of victories @*
18812 but for the common sunshine,@*
18814 the largess of the spring.
18818 but for the day's work done@*
18819 as well as I was able;@*
18820 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18821 but at the common table.@*
18826 @chapter Appendices
18829 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18830 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18831 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18832 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18833 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18834 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18835 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18836 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18844 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18845 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18847 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18848 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18849 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
18850 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18851 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18853 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18854 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18855 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18856 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18857 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18858 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18860 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18861 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18862 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18863 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18866 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18867 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18868 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18869 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18870 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18871 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18872 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18873 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18874 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18875 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18879 @node Gnus Versions
18880 @subsection Gnus Versions
18881 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18883 @cindex September Gnus
18884 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18886 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18887 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18888 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18890 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18891 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18893 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18894 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18896 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18897 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18899 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18900 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18903 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18904 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18905 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18906 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18907 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18911 @node Other Gnus Versions
18912 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18915 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18916 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18917 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18918 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18920 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18921 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18922 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18923 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18930 What's the point of Gnus?
18932 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18933 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18934 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18935 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18936 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18937 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18938 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18939 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18940 keep track of millions of people who post?
18942 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18943 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18944 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18945 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18946 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18947 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18948 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18949 every one of you to explore and invent.
18951 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18952 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18955 @node Compatibility
18956 @subsection Compatibility
18958 @cindex compatibility
18959 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18960 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18961 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18966 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18970 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18973 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18976 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18977 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18978 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18979 important variables have their values copied into their global
18980 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18981 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18983 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18984 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18985 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18986 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18987 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18991 @cindex highlighting
18992 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18993 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18994 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18995 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18996 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18997 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19000 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19001 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19002 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19003 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19005 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19006 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19007 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19008 to stop doing it the old way.
19010 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19012 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19014 @cindex reporting bugs
19016 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19017 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19018 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19020 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19021 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19022 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19023 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19028 @subsection Conformity
19030 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19031 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19038 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19042 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19044 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19045 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19046 We do have some breaches to this one.
19052 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19053 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19054 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19055 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19056 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19061 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19062 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19063 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19064 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19068 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19069 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19074 @subsection Emacsen
19080 Gnus should work on :
19088 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
19092 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19093 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19096 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19097 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19098 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19102 @node Gnus Development
19103 @subsection Gnus Development
19105 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19106 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19107 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19108 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19109 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19110 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19111 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19112 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19114 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19115 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19116 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19117 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19118 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19121 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19122 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19123 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19124 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19125 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19127 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19128 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19129 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19130 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19131 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19132 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19133 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19134 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19135 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19136 can't be assumed to do so.
19141 @subsection Contributors
19142 @cindex contributors
19144 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19145 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19146 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19147 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19148 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19149 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19150 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19151 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19152 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19153 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19155 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19161 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19164 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19165 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19166 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19167 functionality and stuff.
19170 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19171 well as numerous other things).
19174 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19177 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19180 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19183 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19184 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19187 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19190 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19191 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19194 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19197 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19200 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19203 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19206 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19207 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19210 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19213 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19216 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19219 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19223 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19226 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19229 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19232 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19233 well as autoconf support.
19237 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19238 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19240 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19249 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19253 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19263 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19278 Massimo Campostrini,
19283 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19284 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19288 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19291 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19297 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19302 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19306 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19314 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19316 Michelangelo Grigni,
19320 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19322 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19324 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19331 François Felix Ingrand,
19332 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19333 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19335 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19346 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19347 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19349 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19350 Thor Kristoffersen,
19353 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19371 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19372 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19379 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19384 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19388 John McClary Prevost,
19394 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19399 Christian von Roques,
19402 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19409 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19411 Randal L. Schwartz,
19425 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19430 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19446 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19451 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19452 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19453 (550kB and counting).
19455 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19458 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19459 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19463 @subsection New Features
19464 @cindex new features
19467 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19468 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19469 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19470 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19473 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19474 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19475 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19479 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19481 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19486 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19487 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19490 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19491 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19494 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19497 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19498 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19499 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19502 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19503 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19504 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19505 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19508 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19509 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19512 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19513 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19514 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19517 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19518 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19521 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19522 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19523 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19526 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19527 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19528 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19531 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19532 the @file{.emacs} file.
19535 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19536 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19539 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19540 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19543 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19544 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19547 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19548 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19551 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19552 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19555 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19558 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19559 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19562 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19563 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19566 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19567 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19570 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19573 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19574 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19577 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19581 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19585 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19586 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19589 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19595 @node September Gnus
19596 @subsubsection September Gnus
19600 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19604 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19609 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19610 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19614 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19615 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19619 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19623 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19624 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19627 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19631 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19634 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19637 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19640 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19644 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19645 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19648 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19652 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19656 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19660 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19664 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19667 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19668 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19671 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19675 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19676 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19679 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19682 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19683 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19684 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19687 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19691 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19694 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19698 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19699 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19702 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19703 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19706 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19707 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19710 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19711 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19712 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19715 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19716 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19719 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19722 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19725 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19728 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19731 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19732 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19735 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19739 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19742 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19747 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19750 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19754 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19757 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19761 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19764 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19767 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19768 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19771 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19772 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19776 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19777 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19780 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19784 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19785 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19788 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19791 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19795 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19799 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19800 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19803 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19807 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19808 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19811 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19812 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19815 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19819 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19822 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19825 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19831 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19833 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19837 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19844 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19847 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19848 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19851 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19852 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19856 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19857 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19860 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19863 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19864 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19867 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19871 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19872 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19876 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19877 Server Internals}).
19880 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19884 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19887 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19888 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19891 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19892 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19893 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19896 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19897 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19900 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19901 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19904 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19908 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19909 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19912 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19913 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19916 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19920 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19923 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19927 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19928 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19931 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19932 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19935 A new command for reading collections of documents
19936 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19937 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19940 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19944 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19945 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19948 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19949 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19950 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19953 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19954 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19958 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19962 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19966 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19971 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19975 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19979 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19980 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19983 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19989 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19991 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19996 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19997 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19998 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20001 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20002 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20003 group, which is created automatically.
20006 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20010 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20013 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20014 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20017 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20021 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20024 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20025 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20028 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20031 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20032 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20035 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20036 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20039 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20040 control over simplification.
20043 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20046 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20050 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20053 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20056 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20057 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20058 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20061 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20062 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20065 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20069 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20070 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20073 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20074 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20077 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20081 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20084 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20087 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20088 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20091 A new function for citing in Message has been
20092 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20095 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20098 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20102 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20103 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20106 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20107 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20110 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20113 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20118 @node Newest Features
20119 @subsection Newest Features
20122 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
20125 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
20127 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
20128 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
20131 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
20136 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
20137 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
20140 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
20143 @uref{http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/}
20146 facep is not declared.
20149 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
20150 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
20153 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
20158 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
20159 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
20160 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
20161 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
20162 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
20163 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
20164 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
20169 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
20172 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
20175 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
20177 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
20178 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
20180 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
20182 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
20184 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
20185 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
20187 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
20189 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
20190 be marked as unread.
20192 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
20194 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
20196 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
20197 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
20199 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
20201 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
20203 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
20204 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
20206 topics that contain just groups with ticked
20207 articles aren't displayed.
20209 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
20211 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
20212 make the mail groups killed.
20214 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
20216 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
20217 and articles have to be removed.
20219 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
20222 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
20224 finding short score file names takes forever.
20226 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20228 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
20230 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
20232 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
20234 nnweb doesn't work properly.
20236 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
20238 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
20239 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
20243 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
20245 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
20246 bar and the Gnus bar.
20249 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
20250 `(canonize-message-id id)'
20251 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
20252 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
20253 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
20254 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
20259 nnml .overview directory with splits.
20263 postponed commands.
20265 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
20267 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
20270 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
20271 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
20273 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
20274 inherit copy prompts and save files.
20276 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
20278 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
20279 for backends that support that.
20281 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
20283 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
20284 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
20286 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
20287 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
20289 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
20291 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
20293 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
20295 server mode command: close/open all connections
20297 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
20298 has been changed before using it.
20300 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
20302 hide (sub)threads with low score.
20304 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
20306 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
20308 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
20309 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
20311 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
20312 contain groups that match a regexp.
20314 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
20317 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
20320 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
20321 from subject lines.
20323 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
20325 nntp-ping-before-connect
20327 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
20329 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
20330 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
20332 message annotations.
20334 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
20336 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
20337 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
20339 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20344 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20346 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20348 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20350 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20351 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20353 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20355 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20357 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20358 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20360 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20361 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20363 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20365 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20367 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20368 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20370 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20372 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20374 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20375 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20378 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20380 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20382 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20383 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20385 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20388 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20389 should be marker as expirable.
20391 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20393 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20394 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20396 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20397 Also consult Date headers.
20399 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20401 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20403 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20404 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20406 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20407 into a See-Also header.
20409 support setext: @url{http://www.bsdi.com/setext/}
20411 support ProleText: @url{http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html}
20413 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20414 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20416 generate font names dynamically.
20418 score file mode auto-alist.
20420 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20421 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20423 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20424 absolutely all headers there is.
20426 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20427 and pipe them to the process.
20429 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20430 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20431 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20433 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20434 the current mail group.
20436 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20438 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20439 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20441 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20442 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20444 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20446 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20447 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20449 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20450 groups it has been mailed to.
20452 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20454 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20456 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20458 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20459 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20461 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20462 newlines) should be ignored.
20464 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20465 groups in subtopics as well.
20467 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20469 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20472 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20474 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20476 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20478 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20480 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20482 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20484 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20485 or the formatted article.
20487 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20489 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20490 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20492 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20494 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20496 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20498 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20499 even unread articles.
20501 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20503 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20505 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20507 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20509 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20511 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20514 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20515 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20517 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20518 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20520 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20522 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20524 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20525 from a particular server? Hm.
20527 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20528 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20530 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20532 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20533 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20535 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20536 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20538 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20539 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20540 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20543 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20544 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20546 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20548 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20550 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20552 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20555 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20558 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20559 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20561 command to show and edit group scores
20563 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20566 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20568 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20570 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20571 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20574 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20575 that are of that length.
20577 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20579 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20581 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20583 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20585 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20587 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20589 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20590 a score lower than this number.
20592 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20594 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20596 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20597 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20599 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20601 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20602 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20604 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20607 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20608 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20609 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20610 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20612 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20615 command to remove all topic stuff.
20617 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20618 and splitting the resulting digests.
20620 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20622 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20624 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20625 matches an alist -- before saving.
20627 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20629 variable to activate each group before entering them
20630 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20632 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20633 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20635 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20636 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20638 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20640 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20641 of several groups at once.
20643 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20644 matches some regexp(s).
20646 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20648 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20650 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20652 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20654 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20656 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20658 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20660 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20661 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20662 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20663 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20665 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20666 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20668 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20670 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20671 recently cited text.
20673 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20675 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20678 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20679 server and just read the articles in the server
20681 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20682 value of nnoo variables.
20684 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20686 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20687 listed in each group info.
20689 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20692 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20693 should only be applied to some groups.
20695 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20696 mail-copies-to: never.
20698 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20699 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20701 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20703 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20706 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20709 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20711 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20714 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20718 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20720 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20721 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20722 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20723 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20724 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20726 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20727 @uref{ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html}
20734 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20735 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20737 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20738 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20740 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20741 "Return the date the group was last read."
20742 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20747 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20748 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20749 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20750 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20754 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20755 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20757 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20760 They could be used like this:
20764 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20765 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20766 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20768 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20770 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20773 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20776 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20777 affect the summary line format.
20781 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20783 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20784 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20786 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20789 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20791 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20793 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20795 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20797 - For other files, just find them normally.
20799 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20800 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20803 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20804 tell him what you are doing.
20807 Currently, I get prompted:
20811 decend into sci.something ?
20815 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20816 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20817 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20818 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20821 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20822 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20823 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20824 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20827 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20828 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20834 more than n blank lines
20836 more than m identical lines
20837 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20839 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20843 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20844 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20845 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20846 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20849 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20850 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20851 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20852 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20855 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20858 soup - bowl of soup
20859 score below - dim light bulb
20860 score over - bright light bulb
20863 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20868 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20869 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20870 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20871 if (articles-selected)
20872 start-reading-selected-articles;
20873 junk-unread-articles;
20878 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20879 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20880 select-thread-under-cursor;
20882 select-article-under-cursor;
20886 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20887 if (more-pages-in-article)
20889 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20896 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20897 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20898 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20901 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20902 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20903 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20904 the wildcard expression).
20907 It would be nice if it also handled
20909 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20911 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20916 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20917 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20918 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20919 article versions) variable.
20921 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20923 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20924 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20928 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20931 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20932 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20933 (message-sent-hook).
20935 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20938 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20942 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20943 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20946 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20947 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20948 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20951 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20952 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20956 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20959 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20963 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20964 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20967 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20968 value of the signature file.
20971 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20972 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20975 (setq message-tab-alist
20976 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20977 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20979 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20983 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20986 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20989 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20992 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20993 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20996 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20999 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
21000 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
21001 do more gathering by subject.
21004 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
21005 article numerical order.
21008 (gnus-thread-total-score
21009 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
21013 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
21016 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
21017 in the summary buffer.
21020 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
21021 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
21024 @url{http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html}?
21025 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
21026 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
21027 and/or newsgroup name.
21030 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
21033 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
21036 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
21039 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
21040 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
21041 will automatically get the process mark.
21044 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
21045 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
21046 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
21049 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
21053 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
21054 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
21057 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
21058 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
21062 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
21063 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
21066 be able to post via DejaNews.
21069 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
21072 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
21073 allow them to be displayed separately.
21076 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
21077 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
21080 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
21081 articles that match a certain From header.
21084 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
21085 saving living summary buffers.
21088 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
21089 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
21092 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
21093 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
21096 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
21097 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
21100 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
21101 (goto-char (point-min))
21102 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
21103 (replace-match "`" t t))
21104 (goto-char (point-min))
21105 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
21106 (replace-match "'" t t))
21107 (goto-char (point-min))
21108 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
21109 (replace-match "\"" t t))
21110 (goto-char (point-min))
21111 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
21112 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
21117 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
21119 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
21120 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
21121 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
21122 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
21126 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
21129 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
21130 numbers and match on the age of the article.
21134 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
21135 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
21136 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
21138 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
21139 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
21141 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
21142 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
21147 all commands that react to the process mark should push
21148 the current process mark set onto the stack.
21151 gnus-article-hide-pgp
21152 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
21154 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
21156 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
21157 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
21160 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
21161 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
21164 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
21168 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
21169 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
21172 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
21175 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
21178 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
21181 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
21185 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
21191 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
21194 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
21198 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
21199 X characters in the body.
21202 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
21205 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
21208 format spec to "tab" to a position.
21211 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
21214 command to display all dormant articles.
21217 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
21220 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
21221 to something someone else has said.
21224 Read Netscape discussion groups:
21225 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
21228 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
21229 the displayed version.
21232 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
21236 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
21239 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
21240 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
21241 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
21245 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
21246 in the head or body.
21249 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
21252 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
21255 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
21256 in a special, unique buffer.
21259 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
21262 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
21263 is less than a certain number of days old.
21266 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
21269 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
21272 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
21273 file, for instance.
21276 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
21277 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
21278 dummy root instead of the first article.
21281 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
21282 topics for displaying.
21285 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
21286 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
21289 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
21292 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
21293 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
21294 summary buffer for each article.
21297 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
21300 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
21304 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
21307 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
21311 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
21314 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
21317 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
21318 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
21321 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
21322 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
21325 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
21326 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
21329 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
21330 timeout for all commands.
21333 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
21334 It should go somewhere else.
21337 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
21338 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
21339 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
21341 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21342 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21344 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21345 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21352 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21353 --text follows this line--
21354 Sorry I killfiled you...
21356 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21358 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21363 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21367 - Edit article's summary line.
21369 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21371 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21377 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21381 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21382 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21386 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21389 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21392 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21393 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21394 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21395 turn into a [-] button.)
21398 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21399 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21400 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21401 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21404 Handle external-body parts.
21407 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21411 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21414 (body "whatever.text")
21418 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21421 Solve the halting problem.
21430 @section The Manual
21434 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21435 either @code{texi2dvi}
21437 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21438 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21440 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21442 The following conventions have been used:
21447 This is a @samp{string}
21450 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21453 This is a @file{file}
21456 This is a @code{symbol}
21460 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21464 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21467 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21470 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21473 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21474 ever get them confused.
21478 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21479 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21480 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21481 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21482 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21483 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21484 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21490 @node On Writing Manuals
21491 @section On Writing Manuals
21493 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21494 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21495 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21496 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21497 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21498 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21501 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21502 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21503 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21506 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21507 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21512 @section Terminology
21514 @cindex terminology
21519 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21520 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21521 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21522 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21523 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21527 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21528 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21529 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21530 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21534 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21538 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21543 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21544 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21545 is all done by the backends.
21549 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21550 default, way of getting news.
21554 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21555 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21560 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21561 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21565 A message that has been posted as news.
21568 @cindex mail message
21569 A message that has been mailed.
21573 A mail message or news article
21577 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21582 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21587 A line from the head of an article.
21591 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21592 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21596 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21597 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21598 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21599 normal @sc{head} format.
21603 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21604 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21605 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21606 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21607 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21608 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21610 @item killed groups
21611 @cindex killed groups
21612 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21613 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21615 @item zombie groups
21616 @cindex zombie groups
21617 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21620 @cindex active file
21621 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21622 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21623 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21626 @cindex bogus groups
21627 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21628 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21629 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21632 @cindex activating groups
21633 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21634 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21635 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21639 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21641 @item select method
21642 @cindex select method
21643 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21646 @item virtual server
21647 @cindex virtual server
21648 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21649 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21650 whole is a virtual server.
21654 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21655 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21658 @item ephemeral groups
21659 @cindex ephemeral groups
21660 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21661 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21662 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21665 @cindex solid groups
21666 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21667 group buffer are solid groups.
21669 @item sparse articles
21670 @cindex sparse articles
21671 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21672 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21676 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21677 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21681 @cindex thread root
21682 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21683 articles in the thread.
21687 An article that has responses.
21691 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21695 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21696 specified by RFC 1153.
21702 @node Customization
21703 @section Customization
21704 @cindex general customization
21706 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21707 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21708 for some quite common situations.
21711 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21712 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21713 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21714 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21718 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21719 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21721 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21722 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21723 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21727 @item gnus-read-active-file
21728 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21729 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21730 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21731 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21732 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21734 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21735 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21736 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21737 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21741 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21742 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21744 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21745 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21746 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21750 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21751 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21752 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21753 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21754 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21756 @item gnus-visible-headers
21757 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21758 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21759 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21760 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21762 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21764 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21765 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21766 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21769 @item gnus-use-full-window
21770 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21771 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21772 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21773 want to read them anyway.
21775 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21776 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21779 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21780 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21781 lines, which might save some time.
21785 @node Little Disk Space
21786 @subsection Little Disk Space
21789 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21790 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21794 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21795 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21796 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21797 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21800 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21801 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21802 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21803 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21806 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21807 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21808 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21809 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21810 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21816 @subsection Slow Machine
21817 @cindex slow machine
21819 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21820 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21822 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21823 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21825 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21826 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21827 summary buffer faster.
21831 @node Troubleshooting
21832 @section Troubleshooting
21833 @cindex troubleshooting
21835 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21843 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21846 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21847 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21851 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21852 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21853 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21854 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21857 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21861 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21862 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21863 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21864 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21865 something like that.
21868 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21871 @cindex reporting bugs
21873 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21875 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21876 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21877 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21878 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21880 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21881 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21882 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21883 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21886 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21887 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21888 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21889 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21890 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21891 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21893 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21894 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21895 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21898 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21899 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21901 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21902 @cindex ding mailing list
21903 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21904 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21908 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21909 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21911 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21912 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21913 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21914 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21917 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21918 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21919 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21920 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21921 and general methods of operation.
21924 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21925 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21926 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21927 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21928 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21929 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21930 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21931 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21932 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21936 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21937 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21938 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21939 @cindex utility functions
21941 @cindex internal variables
21943 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21944 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21945 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21949 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21950 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21951 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21953 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21954 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21955 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21957 @item gnus-group-real-name
21958 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21959 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21962 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21963 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21964 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21965 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21967 @item gnus-get-info
21968 @findex gnus-get-info
21969 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21971 @item gnus-group-unread
21972 @findex gnus-group-unread
21973 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21977 @findex gnus-active
21978 The active entry for @var{group}.
21980 @item gnus-set-active
21981 @findex gnus-set-active
21982 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21984 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21985 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21986 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21989 @item gnus-continuum-version
21990 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21991 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21992 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21995 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21996 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21997 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21999 @item gnus-news-group-p
22000 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22001 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
22003 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22004 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22005 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22007 @item gnus-server-to-method
22008 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22009 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22011 @item gnus-server-equal
22012 @findex gnus-server-equal
22013 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22015 @item gnus-group-native-p
22016 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22017 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22019 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22020 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22021 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22023 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22024 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22025 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22027 @item group-group-find-parameter
22028 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22029 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22030 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22032 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22033 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22034 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22036 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22037 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22038 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22040 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22041 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22042 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
22043 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22046 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22050 @item gnus-read-method
22051 @findex gnus-read-method
22052 Prompts the user for a select method.
22057 @node Backend Interface
22058 @subsection Backend Interface
22060 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22061 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22062 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
22063 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22064 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22065 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22067 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
22068 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22069 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
22070 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22071 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22072 been opened, the function should fail.
22074 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22075 name. Take this example:
22079 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22080 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22083 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22084 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22086 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22087 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22088 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22090 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22091 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22092 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22094 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22095 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22096 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22097 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22098 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22099 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22102 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
22103 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
22104 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22105 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22108 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
22111 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22114 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22115 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22116 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22117 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
22118 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22119 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
22123 @node Required Backend Functions
22124 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
22128 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22130 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22131 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
22132 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
22133 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22135 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22136 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22137 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22138 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22140 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22141 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22142 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22143 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22144 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
22145 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22146 number, do maximum fetches.
22148 Here's an example HEAD:
22151 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22152 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22153 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22154 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22155 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22156 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22157 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22159 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22160 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22161 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22165 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22166 these in the data buffer.
22168 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22172 head = error / valid-head
22173 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22174 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22175 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22176 header = <text> eol
22179 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22180 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22184 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22185 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22186 field = <text except TAB>
22189 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22193 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22195 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22196 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22198 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
22199 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22200 server. In fact, it should do so.
22202 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22203 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22206 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22208 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22209 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22212 There should be no data returned.
22215 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22217 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
22218 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
22219 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22220 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22222 There should be no data returned.
22225 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22227 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22228 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22229 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22230 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22232 There should be no data returned.
22235 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22237 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22239 There should be no data returned.
22242 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22244 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22245 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22246 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22247 it would be nice if that were possible.
22249 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22250 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22251 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22252 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22253 into its article buffer.
22255 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22256 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22257 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22258 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22259 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22260 on successful article retrieval.
22263 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22265 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22266 making @var{group} the current group.
22268 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22271 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22274 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22277 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22278 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22279 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22280 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22281 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22282 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22283 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22284 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22287 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22288 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22289 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22293 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22295 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22296 a no-op on most backends.
22298 There should be no data returned.
22301 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22303 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22306 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22309 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22310 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22313 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22314 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22317 active-file = *active-line
22318 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22320 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22323 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22324 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22325 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22328 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22330 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22331 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22332 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22333 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22334 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22335 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22337 There should be no result data from this function.
22342 @node Optional Backend Functions
22343 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22347 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22349 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22350 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22351 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22353 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22354 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22355 former is in the same format as the data from
22356 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22357 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22360 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22364 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22366 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22367 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22368 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22369 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22370 should return the (altered) group info.
22372 There should be no result data from this function.
22375 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22377 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22378 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22379 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22380 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22381 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22382 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22383 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22384 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22386 There should be no result data from this function.
22389 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22391 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22392 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22393 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22394 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22395 propagate the mark information to the server.
22397 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22400 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22403 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22404 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22405 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22406 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22407 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22408 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22409 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22410 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22411 not limit itself to these.
22413 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22414 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22415 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22416 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22418 An example action list:
22421 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22422 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22423 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22426 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22427 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22429 There should be no result data from this function.
22431 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22433 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22434 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22435 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22436 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22437 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22439 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22440 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22441 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22444 There should be no result data from this function.
22447 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22449 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22450 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22451 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22452 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22453 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22454 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22455 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22457 There should be no result data from this function.
22460 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22462 The result data from this function should be a description of
22466 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22468 description = <text>
22471 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22473 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22474 groups available on the server.
22477 description-buffer = *description-line
22481 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22483 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22484 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22485 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22488 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22490 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22492 There should be no return data.
22495 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22497 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22498 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22499 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22500 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22501 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22504 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22507 There should be no result data returned.
22510 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22513 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22514 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22516 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22517 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22518 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22519 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22520 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22521 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22523 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22524 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22527 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22528 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22530 There should be no data returned.
22533 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22535 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22536 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22537 this function in short order.
22539 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22540 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22542 There should be no data returned.
22545 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22547 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22548 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22550 There should be no data returned.
22553 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22555 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22556 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22557 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22559 There should be no data returned.
22562 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22564 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22565 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22567 There should be no data returned.
22572 @node Error Messaging
22573 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22575 @findex nnheader-report
22576 @findex nnheader-get-report
22577 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22578 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22579 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22580 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22581 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22582 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22585 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22587 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22590 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22591 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22592 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22593 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22595 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22596 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22597 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22600 @node Writing New Backends
22601 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22603 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22604 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22605 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22606 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22607 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22610 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22611 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22612 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22614 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22615 package called @code{nnoo}.
22617 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22618 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22624 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22625 parameters. For instance:
22628 (nnoo-declare nndir
22632 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22633 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22636 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22637 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22638 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22640 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22641 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22642 a function in those backends.
22645 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22646 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22647 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22650 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22651 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22652 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22654 @item nnoo-define-basics
22655 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22659 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22663 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22664 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22665 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22667 @item nnoo-map-functions
22668 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22669 functions from the parent backends.
22672 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22673 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22674 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22677 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22678 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22679 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22680 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22683 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22684 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22685 haven't already been defined.
22691 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22695 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22696 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22697 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22702 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22705 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22706 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22710 (require 'nnheader)
22714 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22716 (nnoo-declare nndir
22719 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22720 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22721 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22723 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22724 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22727 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22728 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22729 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22731 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22732 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22734 ;;; Interface functions.
22736 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22738 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22739 (setq nndir-directory
22740 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22742 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22743 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22744 (push `(nndir-current-group
22745 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22747 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22748 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22750 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22752 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22753 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22754 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22755 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22756 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22760 nnmh-status-message
22762 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22768 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22769 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22771 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22772 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22773 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22774 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22776 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22777 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22782 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22785 The abilities can be:
22789 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22791 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22793 This backend supports both mail and news.
22795 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22798 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22799 articles and groups.
22801 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22802 true for almost all backends.
22803 @item prompt-address
22804 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22805 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22806 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22810 @node Mail-like Backends
22811 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22813 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22814 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22815 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22816 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22819 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22820 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22821 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22824 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22825 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22828 This function takes four parameters.
22832 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22835 @item exit-function
22836 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22838 @item temp-directory
22839 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22842 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22843 performed for one group only.
22846 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22847 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22848 find the article number assigned to this article.
22850 The function also uses the following variables:
22851 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22852 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22853 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22854 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22858 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22859 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22863 @node Score File Syntax
22864 @subsection Score File Syntax
22866 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22867 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22868 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22870 Here's a typical score file:
22874 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22881 BNF definition of a score file:
22884 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22885 element = rule / atom
22886 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22887 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22888 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22889 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22891 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22892 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22893 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22894 date-header = "date"
22895 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22896 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22897 score = "nil" / <integer>
22898 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22899 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22900 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22901 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22902 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22903 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22904 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22905 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22906 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22907 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22908 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22909 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22910 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22911 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22912 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22913 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22914 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22915 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22916 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22917 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22918 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22919 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22920 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22921 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22922 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22923 eval = "eval" space <form>
22924 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22927 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22930 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22931 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22932 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22933 one looong line, then that's ok.
22935 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22936 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22940 @subsection Headers
22942 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22943 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22944 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22945 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22947 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22948 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22949 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22950 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22951 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22952 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22953 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22955 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22956 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22957 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22958 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22959 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22961 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22962 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22968 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22969 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22971 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22972 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22973 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22974 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22976 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22980 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22983 is transformed into
22986 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22989 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22990 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22993 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22996 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22997 is slightly tricky:
23000 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23006 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23009 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23015 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23022 and is equal to the previous range.
23024 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23025 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23026 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23030 range = simple-range / normal-range
23031 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23032 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23033 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23034 number *[ " " contents ]
23037 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23038 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23039 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23040 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23041 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23046 @subsection Group Info
23048 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23049 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23050 describes the group.
23052 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23053 second is a more complex one:
23056 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23058 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23059 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23061 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23064 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23065 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23066 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23067 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23068 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23069 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23070 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23071 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23072 this section is about.
23074 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23075 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23076 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23078 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23081 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23082 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23083 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23084 group = quote <string> quote
23085 ralevel = rank / level
23086 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23087 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23088 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23090 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23091 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23092 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23093 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23096 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23097 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23100 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23101 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23104 @item gnus-info-group
23105 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23106 @findex gnus-info-group
23107 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23108 Get/set the group name.
23110 @item gnus-info-rank
23111 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23112 @findex gnus-info-rank
23113 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23114 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23116 @item gnus-info-level
23117 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23118 @findex gnus-info-level
23119 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23120 Get/set the group level.
23122 @item gnus-info-score
23123 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23124 @findex gnus-info-score
23125 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23126 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23128 @item gnus-info-read
23129 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23130 @findex gnus-info-read
23131 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23132 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23134 @item gnus-info-marks
23135 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23136 @findex gnus-info-marks
23137 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23138 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23140 @item gnus-info-method
23141 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23142 @findex gnus-info-method
23143 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23144 Get/set the group select method.
23146 @item gnus-info-params
23147 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23148 @findex gnus-info-params
23149 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23150 Get/set the group parameters.
23153 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23154 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23156 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23157 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23158 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23159 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23162 @node Extended Interactive
23163 @subsection Extended Interactive
23164 @cindex interactive
23165 @findex gnus-interactive
23167 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23168 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23169 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23172 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23173 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23178 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23179 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23180 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23181 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23182 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23183 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23184 @code{interactive}.
23186 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23191 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23192 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23196 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23197 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23198 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23201 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23205 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23209 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23215 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23216 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23220 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23221 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23222 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23224 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23225 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23226 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23227 Gnus, that's very useful.
23229 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23230 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23231 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23232 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23233 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23234 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23235 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23236 following function:
23239 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23243 (,function ,@@args))
23247 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23248 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23249 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23252 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23253 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23254 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23256 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23257 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23258 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23261 @node Various File Formats
23262 @subsection Various File Formats
23265 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23266 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23270 @node Active File Format
23271 @subsubsection Active File Format
23273 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23274 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23277 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23280 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23281 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23282 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23283 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23284 no.general 1000 900 y
23287 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23290 active = *group-line
23291 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
23292 group = <non-white-space string>
23294 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23295 low-number = <positive integer>
23296 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23299 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23300 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23303 @node Newsgroups File Format
23304 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23306 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23307 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23308 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23311 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23312 Here's the definition:
23316 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23317 group = <non-white-space string>
23319 description = <string>
23324 @node Emacs for Heathens
23325 @section Emacs for Heathens
23327 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23328 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23329 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23330 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23331 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23332 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23333 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23337 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23338 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23343 @subsection Keystrokes
23347 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23350 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23353 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23354 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23355 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23356 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23357 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23358 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23360 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23361 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23362 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23363 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23364 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23365 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23366 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23368 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23369 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23370 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23371 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23372 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23373 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23374 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23376 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23377 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23378 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23379 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23380 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23386 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23388 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23389 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23390 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23391 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23393 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23394 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23395 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23396 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23397 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23398 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23399 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23402 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23403 write the following:
23406 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23409 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23410 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23411 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23414 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23415 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23416 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23417 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23418 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23420 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23421 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23422 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23426 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23430 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23433 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23434 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23437 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23440 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23441 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23444 @include gnus-faq.texi
23465 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23466 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23467 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23468 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23469 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref