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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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280 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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289 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
290 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
294 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
295 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
296 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
297 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
298 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
299 License'' in the Emacs manual.
301 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
302 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
303 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
305 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
306 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
307 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
308 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
316 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
318 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
319 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
321 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
322 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
323 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
324 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
325 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
326 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
327 License'' in the Emacs manual.
329 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
330 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
331 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
333 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
334 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
335 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
336 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
347 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
349 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
351 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
352 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
353 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
354 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
355 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
356 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
357 License'' in the Emacs manual.
359 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
360 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
361 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
363 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
364 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
365 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
366 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
375 @top The Gnus Newsreader
379 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
380 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
381 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
384 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
395 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
396 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
398 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
399 being accused of plagiarism:
401 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
402 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
403 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
404 can even read news with it!
406 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
407 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
408 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
409 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
410 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
416 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
417 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
418 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
419 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
420 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
421 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
422 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
423 * Various:: General purpose settings.
424 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
425 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
426 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
427 * Key Index:: Key Index.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
449 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
450 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
454 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
455 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
456 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
457 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
458 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
459 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
460 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
461 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
462 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
463 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
464 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
465 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
466 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
467 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
468 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
469 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
496 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
497 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
498 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
499 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
501 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
502 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
503 * Threading:: How threads are made.
504 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
505 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
506 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
507 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
508 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
509 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
510 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
511 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
512 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
513 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
514 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
515 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
516 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
517 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
518 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
519 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
520 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
521 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
522 or reselecting the current group.
523 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
524 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
525 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
526 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
528 Summary Buffer Format
530 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
531 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
532 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
533 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
537 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
538 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
540 Reply, Followup and Post
542 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
543 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
544 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
545 * Canceling and Superseding::
549 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
550 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
551 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
553 * Generic Marking Commands::
554 * Setting Process Marks::
558 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
559 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
560 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
564 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
565 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
567 Customizing Threading
569 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
570 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
571 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
572 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
576 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
577 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
578 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
579 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
580 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
581 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
585 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
586 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
587 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
591 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
592 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
593 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
594 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
597 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
598 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
600 Alternative Approaches
602 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
603 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
605 Various Summary Stuff
607 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
608 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
609 * Summary Generation Commands::
610 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
614 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
615 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
616 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
617 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
618 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
622 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
623 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
624 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
625 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
626 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
627 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
628 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
629 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
633 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
634 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
635 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
636 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
637 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
638 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
639 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
640 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
644 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
645 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
646 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
647 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
648 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
649 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
650 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
654 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
655 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
659 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
660 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
661 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
665 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
666 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
667 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
668 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
669 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
670 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
671 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
672 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
673 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
674 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
675 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
676 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
677 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
678 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
682 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
683 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
684 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
686 Choosing a Mail Back End
688 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
689 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
690 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
691 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
692 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
693 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
697 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
698 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
699 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
700 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
701 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
702 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
706 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
707 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
708 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
712 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
713 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
714 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
715 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
716 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
720 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
724 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
725 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
726 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
730 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
731 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
735 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
736 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
737 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
738 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
739 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
740 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
741 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
742 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
743 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
744 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
748 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
749 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
750 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
754 * Group Agent Commands::
755 * Summary Agent Commands::
756 * Server Agent Commands::
760 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
761 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
762 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
763 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
764 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
765 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
766 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
767 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
768 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
769 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
770 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
771 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
772 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
773 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
774 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
775 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
776 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
780 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
781 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
782 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
783 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
787 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
788 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
789 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
793 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
794 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
795 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
796 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
797 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
798 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
799 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
800 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
801 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
802 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
803 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
804 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
805 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
806 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
807 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
808 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
809 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
810 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
814 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
815 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
816 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
817 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
818 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
819 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
820 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
821 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
825 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
826 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
827 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
828 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
832 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
833 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
834 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
835 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
836 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
840 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
841 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
842 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
843 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
844 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
845 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
846 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
850 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
851 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
852 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
853 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
854 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
855 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
856 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
857 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
858 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
862 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
863 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
864 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
865 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
866 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
870 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
871 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
872 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
873 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
877 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
878 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
879 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
880 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
881 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
882 * Group Info:: The group info format.
883 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
884 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
885 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
889 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
890 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
891 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
892 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
893 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
894 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
898 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
899 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
903 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
904 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
910 @chapter Starting Gnus
915 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
916 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
919 @findex gnus-other-frame
920 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
921 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
922 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
924 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
925 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
926 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
928 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
929 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
932 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
933 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
934 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
935 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
936 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
937 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
938 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
939 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
940 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
941 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
942 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
946 @node Finding the News
947 @section Finding the News
950 @vindex gnus-select-method
952 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
953 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
954 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
955 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
958 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
959 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
962 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
965 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
968 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
971 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
972 certainly be much faster.
974 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
976 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
977 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
978 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
979 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
980 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
981 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
983 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
984 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
985 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
986 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
988 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
989 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
990 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
991 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
992 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
993 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
994 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
995 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
996 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
999 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1001 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1002 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1003 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1004 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1005 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1006 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1008 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1010 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1011 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1012 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1013 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1014 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1015 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1018 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1019 you would typically set this variable to
1022 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1026 @node The First Time
1027 @section The First Time
1028 @cindex first time usage
1030 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1031 be subscribed by default.
1033 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1034 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1035 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1036 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1039 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1040 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1041 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1043 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1044 help you with most common problems.
1046 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1047 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1051 @node The Server is Down
1052 @section The Server is Down
1053 @cindex server errors
1055 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1056 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1057 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1059 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1060 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1061 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1062 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1063 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1064 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1065 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1067 @findex gnus-no-server
1068 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1070 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1071 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1072 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1073 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1074 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1075 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1076 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1080 @section Slave Gnusae
1083 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1084 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1085 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1086 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1088 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1089 @code{.newsrc} file.
1091 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1092 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1093 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1094 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1095 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1096 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1097 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1099 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1100 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1101 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1102 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1103 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1104 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1105 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1106 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1108 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1109 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1112 @node Fetching a Group
1113 @section Fetching a Group
1114 @cindex fetching a group
1116 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1117 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1118 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1119 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1120 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1121 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1127 @cindex subscription
1129 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1130 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1131 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1132 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1133 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1134 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1135 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1136 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1137 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1140 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1141 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1142 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1146 @node Checking New Groups
1147 @subsection Checking New Groups
1149 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1150 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1151 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1152 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1153 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1154 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1155 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1156 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1157 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1158 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1160 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1161 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1162 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1163 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1164 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1165 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1166 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1167 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1168 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1169 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1170 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1172 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1173 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1174 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1175 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1176 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1177 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1180 @node Subscription Methods
1181 @subsection Subscription Methods
1183 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1184 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1185 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1187 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1188 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1190 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1194 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1195 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1196 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1197 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1198 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1200 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1202 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1203 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1205 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1207 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1209 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1210 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1211 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1212 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1213 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1214 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1215 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1216 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1217 up. Or something like that.
1219 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1221 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1222 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1223 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1225 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1227 Kill all new groups.
1229 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1230 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1231 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1232 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1233 topic parameter that looks like
1239 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1242 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1248 A closely related variable is
1249 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1250 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1251 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1252 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1255 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1256 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1258 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1261 @node Filtering New Groups
1262 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1264 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1265 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1266 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1269 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1273 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1274 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1275 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1276 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1277 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1278 subscribing these groups.
1279 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1280 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1282 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1283 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1284 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1285 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1286 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1287 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1288 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1289 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1291 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1292 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1293 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1294 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1295 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1296 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1297 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1298 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1299 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1300 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1302 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1303 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1306 @node Changing Servers
1307 @section Changing Servers
1308 @cindex changing servers
1310 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1311 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1312 very flaky and you want to use another.
1314 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1315 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1319 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1320 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1321 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1322 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1325 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1326 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1327 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1328 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1330 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1331 @findex gnus-change-server
1332 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1333 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1334 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1335 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1336 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1338 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1339 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1340 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1341 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1342 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1344 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1345 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1346 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1347 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1348 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1349 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1351 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1352 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1353 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1357 @section Startup Files
1358 @cindex startup files
1363 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1364 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1366 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1367 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1368 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1369 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1370 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1371 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1372 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1374 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1375 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1376 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1377 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1378 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1379 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1381 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1382 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1383 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1384 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1385 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1386 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1387 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1388 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1389 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1390 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1392 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1393 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1394 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1395 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1396 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1397 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1398 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1399 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1400 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1401 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1402 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1403 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1405 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1406 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1407 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1408 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1410 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1411 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1412 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1413 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1414 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1415 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1416 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1417 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1418 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1419 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1422 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1423 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1425 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1426 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1429 @vindex gnus-init-file
1430 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1431 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1432 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1433 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1434 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1435 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1436 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1437 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1438 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1444 @cindex dribble file
1447 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1448 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1449 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1450 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1451 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1454 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1455 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1458 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1459 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1460 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1462 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1463 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1464 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1465 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1466 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1467 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1469 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1470 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1471 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1474 @node The Active File
1475 @section The Active File
1477 @cindex ignored groups
1479 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1480 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1481 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1483 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1484 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1485 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1486 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1487 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1488 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1489 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1492 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1493 @c if you set it to anything else.
1495 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1497 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1498 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1499 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1501 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1502 you actually subscribe to.
1504 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1505 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1506 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1507 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1509 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1510 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1511 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1512 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1513 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1514 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1516 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1517 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1518 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1521 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1522 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1523 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1524 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1525 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1526 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1528 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1529 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1531 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1532 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1534 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1535 secondary select methods.
1538 @node Startup Variables
1539 @section Startup Variables
1543 @item gnus-load-hook
1544 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1545 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1546 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1547 times you start Gnus.
1549 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1550 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1551 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1553 @item gnus-startup-hook
1554 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1555 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1557 @item gnus-started-hook
1558 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1559 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1562 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1563 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1564 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1565 generating the group buffer.
1567 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1568 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1569 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1570 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1571 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1572 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1573 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1574 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1576 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1577 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1578 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1579 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1580 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1581 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1583 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1584 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1585 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1587 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1588 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1589 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1591 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1592 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1593 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1594 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1600 @chapter Group Buffer
1601 @cindex group buffer
1603 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1605 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1606 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1607 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1608 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1609 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1610 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1611 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1612 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1613 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1614 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1615 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1616 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1617 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1618 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1619 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1620 @c human rights at 9...
1623 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1624 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1625 long as Gnus is active.
1629 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1630 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1631 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1632 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1633 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1634 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1635 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1636 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1642 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1643 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1644 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1645 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1646 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1647 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1648 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1649 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1650 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1651 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1652 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1653 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1654 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1655 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1656 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1657 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1658 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1662 @node Group Buffer Format
1663 @section Group Buffer Format
1666 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1667 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1668 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1672 @node Group Line Specification
1673 @subsection Group Line Specification
1674 @cindex group buffer format
1676 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1677 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1679 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1682 25: news.announce.newusers
1683 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1688 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1689 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1690 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1691 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1693 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1694 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1695 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1696 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1697 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1698 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1700 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1702 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1703 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1704 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1705 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1708 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1709 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1710 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1712 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1717 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1720 Whether the group is subscribed.
1723 Level of subscribedness.
1726 Number of unread articles.
1729 Number of dormant articles.
1732 Number of ticked articles.
1735 Number of read articles.
1738 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1739 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1741 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1742 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1743 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1744 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1745 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1746 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1747 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1748 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1751 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1754 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1763 Newsgroup description.
1766 @samp{m} if moderated.
1769 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1778 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1782 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1785 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1786 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1787 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1788 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1789 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1792 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1794 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1798 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1801 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1805 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1806 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1807 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1808 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1809 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1810 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1815 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1816 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1817 group, or a bogus native group.
1820 @node Group Modeline Specification
1821 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1822 @cindex group modeline
1824 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1825 The mode line can be changed by setting
1826 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1827 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1831 The native news server.
1833 The native select method.
1837 @node Group Highlighting
1838 @subsection Group Highlighting
1839 @cindex highlighting
1840 @cindex group highlighting
1842 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1843 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1844 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1845 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1846 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1848 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1852 (cond (window-system
1853 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1854 (defface my-group-face-1
1855 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1856 (defface my-group-face-2
1857 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1858 (defface my-group-face-3
1859 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1860 (defface my-group-face-4
1861 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1862 (defface my-group-face-5
1863 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1865 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1866 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1867 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1868 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1869 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1870 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1873 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1875 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1882 The number of unread articles in the group.
1886 Whether the group is a mail group.
1888 The level of the group.
1890 The score of the group.
1892 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1894 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1895 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1897 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1898 topic being inserted.
1901 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1902 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1903 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1905 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1906 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1907 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1908 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1909 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1912 @node Group Maneuvering
1913 @section Group Maneuvering
1914 @cindex group movement
1916 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1917 expected, hopefully.
1923 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1924 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1925 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1931 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1932 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1933 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1937 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1938 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1942 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1943 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1947 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1948 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1949 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1953 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1954 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1955 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1958 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1964 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1965 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1966 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1971 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1972 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1973 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1978 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1979 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1982 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1983 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1984 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1985 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1989 @node Selecting a Group
1990 @section Selecting a Group
1991 @cindex group selection
1996 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1997 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1998 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1999 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2000 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2001 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2002 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2003 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2004 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2005 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2007 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2008 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2009 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2011 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2012 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2017 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2018 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2019 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2020 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2021 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2025 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2026 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2027 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2028 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2029 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2030 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2031 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2032 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2033 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2034 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2037 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2038 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2039 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2040 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2041 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2044 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2045 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2046 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2047 doing any processing of its contents
2048 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2049 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2050 manner will have no permanent effects.
2054 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2055 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2056 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2057 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2058 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2059 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2060 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2061 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2064 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2065 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2066 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2067 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2072 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2073 full summary buffer.
2076 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2079 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2084 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2085 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2086 Useful functions include:
2089 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2090 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2091 don't select the article.
2093 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2094 Select the first unread article.
2096 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2097 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2101 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2102 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2103 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2107 @node Subscription Commands
2108 @section Subscription Commands
2109 @cindex subscription
2117 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2118 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2119 Toggle subscription to the current group
2120 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2126 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2127 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2128 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2129 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2135 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2136 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2137 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2143 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2144 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2147 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2148 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2149 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2150 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2151 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2157 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2158 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2162 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2163 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2166 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2167 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2168 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2169 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2170 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2171 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2172 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2173 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2174 @file{.newsrc} file.
2178 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2188 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2189 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2190 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2191 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2192 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2193 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2198 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2199 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2200 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2204 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2205 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2206 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2208 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2209 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2210 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2211 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2212 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2213 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2220 @section Group Levels
2224 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2225 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2226 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2227 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2228 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2230 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2236 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2237 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2238 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2239 prompted for a level.
2242 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2243 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2244 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2245 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2246 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2247 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2248 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2249 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2250 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2251 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2252 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2253 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2254 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2255 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2256 reasons of efficiency.
2258 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2259 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2261 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2262 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2263 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2264 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2265 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2266 groups are hidden, in a way.
2268 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2269 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2270 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2271 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2272 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2273 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2275 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2276 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2277 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2278 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2279 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2280 list of killed groups.)
2282 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2283 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2284 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2286 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2287 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2288 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2289 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2290 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2291 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2292 relevant valid ranges.
2294 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2295 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2296 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2297 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2298 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2299 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2302 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2303 one with the best level.
2305 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2306 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2307 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2310 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2311 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2312 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2313 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2316 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2317 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2318 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2319 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2321 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2322 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2323 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2324 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2325 to 5. The default is 6.
2329 @section Group Score
2334 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2335 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2336 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2339 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2340 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2341 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2342 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2343 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2344 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2345 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2346 least significant part.))
2348 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2349 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2350 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2351 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2352 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2353 action after each summary exit, you can add
2354 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2355 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2356 slow things down somewhat.
2359 @node Marking Groups
2360 @section Marking Groups
2361 @cindex marking groups
2363 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2364 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2365 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2366 bidding on those groups.
2368 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2369 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2370 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2378 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2379 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2385 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2386 Remove the mark from the current group
2387 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2391 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2392 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2396 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2397 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2401 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2402 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2406 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2407 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2408 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2411 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2413 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2414 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2415 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2416 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2417 the command to be executed.
2420 @node Foreign Groups
2421 @section Foreign Groups
2422 @cindex foreign groups
2424 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2425 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2426 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2427 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2434 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2435 @cindex making groups
2436 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2437 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2438 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2442 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2443 @cindex renaming groups
2444 Rename the current group to something else
2445 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2446 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2452 @findex gnus-group-customize
2453 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2458 @cindex renaming groups
2459 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2460 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2464 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2465 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2466 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2470 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2471 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2472 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2476 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2478 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2479 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2484 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2485 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2489 @cindex (ding) archive
2490 @cindex archive group
2491 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2492 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2493 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2494 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2495 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2496 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2497 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2501 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2503 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2504 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2505 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2506 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2512 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2513 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2514 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2519 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2521 Make a group based on some file or other
2522 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2523 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2524 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2525 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2526 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2527 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2528 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2529 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2530 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2534 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2535 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2536 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2537 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2541 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2546 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2547 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2548 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2549 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2550 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2551 @xref{Web Searches}.
2553 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2554 to a particular group by using a match string like
2555 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2558 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2559 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2560 This function will delete the current group
2561 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2562 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2563 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2564 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2565 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2570 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2571 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2575 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2576 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2577 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2580 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2583 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2584 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2585 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2586 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2587 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2588 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2592 @node Group Parameters
2593 @section Group Parameters
2594 @cindex group parameters
2596 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2597 Here's an example group parameter list:
2600 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2604 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2605 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2606 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2607 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2609 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2610 is an alist of regexps and values.
2612 The following group parameters can be used:
2617 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2620 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2623 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2624 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2625 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2626 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2627 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2629 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2630 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2631 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2632 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2633 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2634 list address instead.
2636 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2640 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2643 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2646 It is totally ignored
2647 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2648 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2650 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2651 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2652 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2653 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2654 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2656 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2657 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2658 sending the message.
2660 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2661 @cindex Mail List Groups
2662 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2663 entering summary buffer.
2665 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2669 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2670 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2671 of whether it has any unread articles.
2673 @item broken-reply-to
2674 @cindex broken-reply-to
2675 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2676 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2677 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2678 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2679 broken behavior. So there!
2683 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2684 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2688 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2689 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2690 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2695 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2696 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2697 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2698 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2699 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2700 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2701 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2705 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2706 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2707 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2709 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2712 @cindex total-expire
2713 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2714 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2715 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2716 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2719 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2723 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2724 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2725 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2726 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2727 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2728 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2731 @cindex score file group parameter
2732 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2733 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2734 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2737 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2738 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2739 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2740 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2743 @cindex admin-address
2744 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2745 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2746 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2747 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2751 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2752 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2756 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2759 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2763 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2765 Here are some examples:
2769 Display only read articles.
2772 Display everything except expirable articles.
2774 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2775 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2779 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2780 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2781 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2782 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2783 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2787 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2788 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2789 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2793 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2794 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2795 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2800 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2801 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2802 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2804 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2806 @item ignored-charsets
2807 @cindex ignored-charset
2808 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2809 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2810 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2812 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2815 @cindex posting-style
2816 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2817 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2818 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2819 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2820 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2822 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2823 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2824 like this in the group parameters:
2829 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2834 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2835 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2839 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2840 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2841 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2842 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2843 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2845 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2846 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2847 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2848 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2849 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2850 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2851 @code{eval}ed there.
2853 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2854 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2855 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2856 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2857 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2861 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2862 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2863 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2864 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2865 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2867 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2868 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2872 (setq gnus-parameters
2874 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2875 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2876 (gnus-summary-line-format
2877 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2881 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2885 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2889 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2892 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2893 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2896 @node Listing Groups
2897 @section Listing Groups
2898 @cindex group listing
2900 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2908 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2909 List all groups that have unread articles
2910 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2911 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2912 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2913 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2920 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2921 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2922 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2923 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2924 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2925 unsubscribed groups).
2929 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2930 List all unread groups on a specific level
2931 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2932 with no unread articles.
2936 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2937 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2938 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2939 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2944 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2945 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2949 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2950 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2951 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2955 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2956 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2960 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2961 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2962 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2963 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2964 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2965 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2966 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2967 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2971 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2972 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2973 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2977 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2978 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2979 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2983 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2984 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2988 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2989 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2993 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2994 List groups limited within the current selection
2995 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2999 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3000 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3004 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3005 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3009 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3010 @cindex visible group parameter
3011 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3012 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3013 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3014 get the same effect.
3016 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3017 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3018 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3019 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3020 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3023 @node Sorting Groups
3024 @section Sorting Groups
3025 @cindex sorting groups
3027 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3028 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3029 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3030 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3031 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3032 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3037 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3038 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3039 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3041 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3042 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3043 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3045 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3046 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3047 Sort by group level.
3049 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3050 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3051 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3053 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3054 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3055 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3056 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3058 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3059 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3060 Sort by number of unread articles.
3062 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3063 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3064 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3066 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3067 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3068 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3073 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3074 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3078 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3079 some sorting criteria:
3083 @kindex G S a (Group)
3084 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3085 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3086 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3089 @kindex G S u (Group)
3090 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3091 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3092 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3095 @kindex G S l (Group)
3096 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3097 Sort the group buffer by group level
3098 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3101 @kindex G S v (Group)
3102 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3103 Sort the group buffer by group score
3104 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3107 @kindex G S r (Group)
3108 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3109 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3110 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3113 @kindex G S m (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3115 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3116 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3120 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3121 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3123 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3124 commands will sort in reverse order.
3126 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3130 @kindex G P a (Group)
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3132 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3133 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3136 @kindex G P u (Group)
3137 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3138 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3139 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3142 @kindex G P l (Group)
3143 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3144 Sort the groups by group level
3145 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3148 @kindex G P v (Group)
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3150 Sort the groups by group score
3151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3154 @kindex G P r (Group)
3155 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3156 Sort the groups by group rank
3157 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3160 @kindex G P m (Group)
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3162 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3163 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3167 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3171 @node Group Maintenance
3172 @section Group Maintenance
3173 @cindex bogus groups
3178 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3179 Find bogus groups and delete them
3180 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3184 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3185 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3186 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3187 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3188 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3192 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3194 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3195 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3196 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3197 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3200 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3201 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3202 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3203 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3208 @node Browse Foreign Server
3209 @section Browse Foreign Server
3210 @cindex foreign servers
3211 @cindex browsing servers
3216 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3217 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3218 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3219 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3222 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3223 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3224 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3225 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3227 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3232 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3233 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3237 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3238 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3241 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3242 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3243 Enter the current group and display the first article
3244 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3247 @kindex RET (Browse)
3248 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3249 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3253 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3254 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3255 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3261 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3262 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3266 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3267 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3268 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3273 @section Exiting Gnus
3274 @cindex exiting Gnus
3276 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3281 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3282 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3283 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3284 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3288 @findex gnus-group-exit
3289 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3290 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3294 @findex gnus-group-quit
3295 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3296 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3299 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3300 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3301 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3302 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3303 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3308 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3309 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3310 trying to customize meta-variables.
3315 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3316 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3317 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3323 @section Group Topics
3326 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3327 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3328 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3329 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3330 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3331 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3335 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3336 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3347 2: alt.religion.emacs
3350 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3352 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3353 13: comp.sources.unix
3356 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3358 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3359 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3360 is a toggling command.)
3362 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3363 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3364 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3365 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3368 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3369 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3370 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3373 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3377 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3378 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3379 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3380 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3381 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3385 @node Topic Commands
3386 @subsection Topic Commands
3387 @cindex topic commands
3389 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3390 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3391 definitions slightly.
3393 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3394 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3395 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3396 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3397 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3398 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3400 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3407 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3408 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3409 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3413 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3415 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3416 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3417 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3418 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3421 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3422 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3423 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3424 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3428 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3429 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3430 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3431 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3437 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3438 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3439 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3443 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3444 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3445 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3448 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3449 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3450 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3451 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3452 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3454 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3455 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3459 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3460 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3467 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3469 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3470 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3471 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3472 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3473 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3474 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3478 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3484 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3485 Move the current group to some other topic
3486 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3487 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3491 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3492 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3496 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3497 Copy the current group to some other topic
3498 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3499 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3503 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3504 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3505 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3509 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3510 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3511 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3515 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3516 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3517 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3518 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3519 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3520 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3521 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3524 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3525 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3529 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3530 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3531 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3535 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3536 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3537 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3541 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3542 Toggle hiding empty topics
3543 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3547 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3548 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3549 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3552 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3553 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3554 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3555 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3558 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3559 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3560 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3561 expiry process (if any)
3562 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3566 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3567 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3570 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3571 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3572 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3576 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3577 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3578 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3582 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3583 @cindex group parameters
3584 @cindex topic parameters
3586 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3587 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3592 @node Topic Variables
3593 @subsection Topic Variables
3594 @cindex topic variables
3596 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3597 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3599 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3600 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3601 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3614 Number of groups in the topic.
3616 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3618 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3621 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3622 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3623 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3626 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3627 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3629 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3630 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3631 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3635 @subsection Topic Sorting
3636 @cindex topic sorting
3638 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3644 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3645 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3646 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3647 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3650 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3651 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3652 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3656 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3657 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3658 Sort the current topic by group level
3659 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3662 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3663 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3664 Sort the current topic by group score
3665 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3668 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3669 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3670 Sort the current topic by group rank
3671 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3674 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3675 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3676 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3677 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3680 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3681 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3682 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3683 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3687 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3690 @node Topic Topology
3691 @subsection Topic Topology
3692 @cindex topic topology
3695 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3701 2: alt.religion.emacs
3704 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3706 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3707 13: comp.sources.unix
3710 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3711 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3712 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3717 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3718 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3722 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3723 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3724 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3725 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3726 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3727 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3729 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3730 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3731 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3734 @node Topic Parameters
3735 @subsection Topic Parameters
3736 @cindex topic parameters
3738 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3739 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3740 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3742 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3747 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3748 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3749 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3754 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3755 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3756 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3757 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3763 2: alt.religion.emacs
3767 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3769 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3770 13: comp.sources.unix
3774 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3775 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3776 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3777 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3778 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3779 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3781 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3782 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3783 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3784 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3785 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3787 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3788 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3789 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3790 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3791 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3792 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3793 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3794 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3797 @node Misc Group Stuff
3798 @section Misc Group Stuff
3801 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3802 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3803 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3804 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3811 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3812 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3813 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3817 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3818 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3819 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3823 @findex gnus-group-mail
3824 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3828 Variables for the group buffer:
3832 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3833 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3834 is called after the group buffer has been
3837 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3838 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3839 is called after the group buffer is
3840 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3843 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3844 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3845 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3846 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3848 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3849 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3850 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3851 whether they are empty or not.
3853 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3854 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3855 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3856 non-ASCII group names.
3860 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3861 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3864 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3865 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3866 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3867 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3868 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3869 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3873 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3874 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3879 @node Scanning New Messages
3880 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3881 @cindex new messages
3882 @cindex scanning new news
3888 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3889 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3890 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3891 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3892 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3893 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3898 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3899 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3900 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3901 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3902 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3903 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3904 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3906 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3907 @cindex activating groups
3909 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3910 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3915 @findex gnus-group-restart
3916 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3917 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3918 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3922 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3923 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3925 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3926 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3930 @node Group Information
3931 @subsection Group Information
3932 @cindex group information
3933 @cindex information on groups
3940 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3941 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3944 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3945 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3946 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3947 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3948 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3949 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3950 for fetching the file.
3952 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3953 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3957 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3959 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3960 @cindex describing groups
3961 @cindex group description
3962 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3963 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3964 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3968 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3969 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3970 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3977 @findex gnus-version
3978 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3982 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3983 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3986 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3989 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3990 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3994 @node Group Timestamp
3995 @subsection Group Timestamp
3997 @cindex group timestamps
3999 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4000 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4001 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4004 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4007 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4009 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4010 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4013 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4014 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4017 This will result in lines looking like:
4020 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4021 0: custom 19961002T012713
4024 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4025 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4029 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4030 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4035 @subsection File Commands
4036 @cindex file commands
4042 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4043 @vindex gnus-init-file
4044 @cindex reading init file
4045 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4046 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4050 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4051 @cindex saving .newsrc
4052 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4053 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4054 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4057 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4058 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4059 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4064 @node Summary Buffer
4065 @chapter Summary Buffer
4066 @cindex summary buffer
4068 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4069 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4071 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4072 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4074 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4077 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4078 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4079 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4080 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4081 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4082 * Delayed Articles::
4083 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4084 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4085 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4086 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4087 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4088 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4089 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4090 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4091 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4092 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4093 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4094 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4095 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4096 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4097 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4098 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4099 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4100 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4101 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4102 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4103 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4104 or reselecting the current group.
4105 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4106 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4107 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4108 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4112 @node Summary Buffer Format
4113 @section Summary Buffer Format
4114 @cindex summary buffer format
4118 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4119 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4120 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4126 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4127 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4128 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4129 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4132 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4133 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4134 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4135 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4136 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4137 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4138 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4139 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4140 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4141 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4142 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4145 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4146 'mail-extract-address-components)
4149 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4150 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4151 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4152 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4155 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4156 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4158 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4159 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4160 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4161 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4162 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4164 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4165 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4166 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4167 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4168 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4170 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4172 The following format specification characters are understood:
4178 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4179 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4181 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4182 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4183 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4185 Full @code{From} header.
4187 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4189 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4190 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4192 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4193 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4194 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4195 may be more thorough.
4197 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4200 Number of lines in the article.
4202 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4203 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4205 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4207 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4210 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4211 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4213 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4214 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4216 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4217 for adopted articles.
4219 One space for each thread level.
4221 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4226 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4227 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4231 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4233 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4234 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4235 default level. If the difference between
4236 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4237 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4245 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4247 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4253 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4254 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4256 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4257 article has any children.
4263 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4264 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4265 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4266 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4267 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4268 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4271 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4272 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4273 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4274 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4275 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4276 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4278 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4279 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4281 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4284 @node To From Newsgroups
4285 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4289 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4290 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4291 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4292 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4293 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4297 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4298 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4299 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4303 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4304 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4307 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4308 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4311 @findex gnus-extra-header
4312 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4313 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4314 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4317 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4321 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4322 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4323 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4324 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4325 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4326 headers are used instead.
4330 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4331 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4332 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4333 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4336 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4337 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4338 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4339 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4341 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4345 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4347 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4348 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4349 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4350 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4354 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4355 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4362 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4363 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4366 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4367 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4369 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4370 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4371 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4372 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4374 Here are the elements you can play with:
4380 Unprefixed group name.
4382 Current article number.
4384 Current article score.
4388 Number of unread articles in this group.
4390 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4393 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4394 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4395 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4396 and no unselected ones.
4398 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4399 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4401 Subject of the current article.
4403 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4405 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4407 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4409 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4411 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4413 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4417 @node Summary Highlighting
4418 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4422 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4423 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4424 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4425 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4426 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4428 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4429 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4430 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4431 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4433 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4434 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4435 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4436 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4438 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4439 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4440 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4441 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4442 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4443 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4446 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4447 ((> score default) . bold))
4449 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4450 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4454 @node Summary Maneuvering
4455 @section Summary Maneuvering
4456 @cindex summary movement
4458 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4459 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4461 None of these commands select articles.
4466 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4467 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4468 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4469 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4470 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4474 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4475 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4476 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4477 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4478 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4481 @kindex G g (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4483 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4484 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4487 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4488 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4489 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4490 to the group buffer.
4492 Variables related to summary movement:
4496 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4497 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4498 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4499 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4500 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4501 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4502 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4503 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4504 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4505 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4506 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4507 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4508 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4509 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4511 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4512 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4513 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4514 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4515 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4516 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4517 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4519 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4521 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4522 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4523 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4524 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4525 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4527 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4528 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4529 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4530 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4531 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4532 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4533 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4534 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4537 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4538 the given number of lines from the top.
4543 @node Choosing Articles
4544 @section Choosing Articles
4545 @cindex selecting articles
4548 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4549 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4553 @node Choosing Commands
4554 @subsection Choosing Commands
4556 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4557 and they all select and display an article.
4559 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4560 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4564 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4565 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4566 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4567 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4572 @kindex G n (Summary)
4573 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4574 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4575 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4580 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4581 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4582 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4587 @kindex G N (Summary)
4588 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4589 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4594 @kindex G P (Summary)
4595 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4596 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4599 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4600 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4601 Go to the next article with the same subject
4602 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4605 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4606 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4607 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4608 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4612 @kindex G f (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4615 Go to the first unread article
4616 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4620 @kindex G b (Summary)
4622 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4623 Go to the article with the highest score
4624 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4629 @kindex G l (Summary)
4630 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4631 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4634 @kindex G o (Summary)
4635 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4637 @cindex article history
4638 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4639 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4640 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4641 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4642 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4643 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4648 @kindex G j (Summary)
4649 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4650 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4651 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4656 @node Choosing Variables
4657 @subsection Choosing Variables
4659 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4662 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4663 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4664 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4665 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4666 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4667 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4669 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4670 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4671 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4672 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4674 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4675 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4676 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4677 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4678 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4679 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4680 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4681 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4682 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4683 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4684 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4685 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4686 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4687 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4692 @node Paging the Article
4693 @section Scrolling the Article
4694 @cindex article scrolling
4699 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4700 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4701 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4702 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4703 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4706 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4707 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4708 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4711 @kindex RET (Summary)
4712 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4713 Scroll the current article one line forward
4714 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4717 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4718 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4719 Scroll the current article one line backward
4720 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4724 @kindex A g (Summary)
4726 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4727 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4728 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4729 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4730 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4731 the way it came from the server.
4733 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4734 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4735 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4738 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4743 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4748 @kindex A < (Summary)
4749 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4750 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4751 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4756 @kindex A > (Summary)
4757 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4758 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4762 @kindex A s (Summary)
4764 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4765 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4766 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4770 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4771 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4776 @node Reply Followup and Post
4777 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4780 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4781 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4782 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4783 * Canceling and Superseding::
4787 @node Summary Mail Commands
4788 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4790 @cindex composing mail
4792 Commands for composing a mail message:
4798 @kindex S r (Summary)
4800 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4801 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4802 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4803 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4804 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4809 @kindex S R (Summary)
4810 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4811 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4812 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4813 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4814 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4817 @kindex S w (Summary)
4818 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4819 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4820 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4821 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4822 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4825 @kindex S W (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4827 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4828 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4829 the process/prefix convention.
4832 @kindex S v (Summary)
4833 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4834 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4835 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4836 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4837 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4838 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4842 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4843 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4844 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4845 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4846 Forward the current article to some other person
4847 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4848 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4849 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4850 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4851 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4852 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4853 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4854 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4855 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4860 @kindex S m (Summary)
4861 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4862 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4863 Send a mail to some other person
4864 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4867 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4868 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4869 @cindex bouncing mail
4870 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4871 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4872 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4873 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4874 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4875 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4876 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4877 very well fail, though.
4880 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4881 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4882 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4883 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4884 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4885 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4886 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4887 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4888 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4889 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4891 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4892 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4893 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4894 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4895 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4897 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4898 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4901 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4903 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4904 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4905 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4908 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4909 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4910 @cindex crossposting
4911 @cindex excessive crossposting
4912 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4913 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4915 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4916 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4917 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4918 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4919 command understands the process/prefix convention
4920 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4924 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4925 Manual}, for more information.
4928 @node Summary Post Commands
4929 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4931 @cindex composing news
4933 Commands for posting a news article:
4939 @kindex S p (Summary)
4940 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4941 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4942 Post an article to the current group
4943 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4948 @kindex S f (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4950 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4951 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4955 @kindex S F (Summary)
4957 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4958 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4959 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4960 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4961 process/prefix convention.
4964 @kindex S n (Summary)
4965 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4966 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4967 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4970 @kindex S N (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4972 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4973 message through mail and include the original message
4974 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4975 the process/prefix convention.
4978 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4980 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4981 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4982 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4983 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4984 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4985 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4986 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4987 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4988 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4989 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4990 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4993 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4996 @cindex making digests
4997 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4998 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4999 process/prefix convention.
5002 @kindex S u (Summary)
5003 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5004 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5005 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5006 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5009 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5010 Manual}, for more information.
5013 @node Summary Message Commands
5014 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5018 @kindex S y (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5020 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5021 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5022 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5023 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5028 @node Canceling and Superseding
5029 @subsection Canceling Articles
5030 @cindex canceling articles
5031 @cindex superseding articles
5033 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5034 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5036 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5038 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5040 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5041 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5042 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5043 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5044 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5045 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5047 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5048 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5051 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5052 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5053 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5055 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5056 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5057 your original article.
5059 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5061 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5062 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5063 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5066 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5067 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5068 have posted almost the same article twice.
5070 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5071 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5072 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5073 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5074 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5075 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5076 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5077 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5078 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5079 canceled/superseded.
5081 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5083 @node Delayed Articles
5084 @section Delayed Articles
5085 @cindex delayed sending
5086 @cindex send delayed
5088 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5089 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5090 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5091 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5094 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5097 @findex gnus-delay-article
5098 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5099 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5100 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5101 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5105 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5106 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5107 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5108 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5111 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5112 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5113 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5116 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5117 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5118 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5119 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5120 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5121 that means a time tomorrow.
5124 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5125 couple of variables:
5128 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5129 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5130 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5131 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5133 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5134 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5135 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5136 formats described above.
5138 @item gnus-delay-group
5139 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5140 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5141 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5142 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5144 @item gnus-delay-header
5145 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5146 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5147 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5148 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5151 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5152 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5153 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5154 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5155 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5157 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5158 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5159 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5160 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5161 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5162 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5165 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5166 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5167 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5168 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5169 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5170 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5171 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5172 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5174 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5175 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5176 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5177 forget to set that up :-)
5181 @node Marking Articles
5182 @section Marking Articles
5183 @cindex article marking
5184 @cindex article ticking
5187 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5189 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5190 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5191 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5193 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5196 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5197 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5198 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5202 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5206 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5207 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5208 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5212 @node Unread Articles
5213 @subsection Unread Articles
5215 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5220 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5221 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5223 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5224 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5225 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5226 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5227 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5228 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5229 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5232 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5233 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5235 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5236 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5237 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5238 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5242 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5243 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5245 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5250 @subsection Read Articles
5251 @cindex expirable mark
5253 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5258 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5259 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5260 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5263 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5264 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5267 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5268 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5269 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5272 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5273 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5276 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5277 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5280 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5281 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5284 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5285 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5288 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5289 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5292 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5293 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5296 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5297 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5301 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5302 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5303 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5307 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5308 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5310 One more special mark, though:
5314 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5315 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5317 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5318 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5319 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5320 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5326 @subsection Other Marks
5327 @cindex process mark
5330 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5336 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5337 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5338 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5339 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5340 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5343 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5344 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5345 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5346 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5348 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5349 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5350 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5352 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5353 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5354 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5355 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5358 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5359 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5360 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5363 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5364 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5365 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5366 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5369 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5370 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5371 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5372 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5373 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5376 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5377 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5378 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5381 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5382 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5383 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5384 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5385 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5388 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5389 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5390 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5391 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5392 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5393 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5397 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5398 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5399 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5401 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5402 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5403 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5407 @subsection Setting Marks
5408 @cindex setting marks
5410 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5415 @kindex M c (Summary)
5416 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5417 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5418 @cindex mark as unread
5419 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5420 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5426 @kindex M t (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5428 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5429 @xref{Article Caching}.
5434 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5435 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5436 Mark the current article as dormant
5437 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5441 @kindex M d (Summary)
5443 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5444 Mark the current article as read
5445 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5449 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5450 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5451 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5456 @kindex M k (Summary)
5457 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5458 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5459 and then select the next unread article
5460 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5464 @kindex M K (Summary)
5465 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5467 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5471 @kindex M C (Summary)
5472 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5473 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5474 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5477 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5478 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5479 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5480 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5483 @kindex M H (Summary)
5484 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5485 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5486 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5489 @kindex M h (Summary)
5490 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5491 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5492 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5495 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5496 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5497 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5498 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5501 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5503 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5504 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5508 @kindex M e (Summary)
5510 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5511 Mark the current article as expirable
5512 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5515 @kindex M b (Summary)
5516 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5517 Set a bookmark in the current article
5518 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5521 @kindex M B (Summary)
5522 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5523 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5524 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5527 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5528 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5529 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5530 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5533 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5534 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5535 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5536 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5539 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5541 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5542 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5543 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5546 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5547 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5548 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5549 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5550 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5551 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5552 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5553 The default is @code{t}.
5556 @node Generic Marking Commands
5557 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5559 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5560 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5561 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5562 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5563 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5566 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5567 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5570 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5571 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5572 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5573 to list in this manual.
5575 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5576 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5577 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5578 article, you could say something like:
5581 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5582 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5583 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5589 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5590 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5594 @node Setting Process Marks
5595 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5596 @cindex setting process marks
5603 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5604 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5605 Mark the current article with the process mark
5606 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5607 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5611 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5612 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5613 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5614 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5617 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5618 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5619 Remove the process mark from all articles
5620 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5623 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5624 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5625 Invert the list of process marked articles
5626 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5629 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5630 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5631 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5632 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5635 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5636 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5637 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5638 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5641 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5642 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5643 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5646 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5647 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5648 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5649 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5652 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5653 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5654 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5655 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5658 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5659 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5660 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5661 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5664 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5665 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5666 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5669 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5670 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5671 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5672 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5675 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5676 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5677 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5680 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5681 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5682 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5683 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5686 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5688 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5689 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5692 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5693 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5694 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5695 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5698 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5699 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5700 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5701 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5705 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5706 set process marks based on article body contents.
5713 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5714 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5715 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5718 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5719 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5720 additional articles.
5726 @kindex / / (Summary)
5727 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5728 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5729 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5732 @kindex / a (Summary)
5733 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5734 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5735 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5738 @kindex / x (Summary)
5739 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5740 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5741 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5742 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5746 @kindex / u (Summary)
5748 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5749 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5750 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5751 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5752 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5755 @kindex / m (Summary)
5756 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5757 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5758 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5761 @kindex / t (Summary)
5762 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5763 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5764 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5765 articles younger than that number of days.
5768 @kindex / n (Summary)
5769 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5770 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5771 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5772 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5775 @kindex / w (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5777 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5778 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5782 @kindex / v (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5784 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5785 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5788 @kindex / p (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5790 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5791 group parameter predicate
5792 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5793 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5797 @kindex M S (Summary)
5798 @kindex / E (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5800 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5801 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5804 @kindex / D (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5806 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5807 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5810 @kindex / * (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5812 Include all cached articles in the limit
5813 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5816 @kindex / d (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5818 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5819 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5822 @kindex / M (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5824 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5827 @kindex / T (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5829 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5832 @kindex / c (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5834 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5835 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5838 @kindex / C (Summary)
5839 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5840 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5841 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5842 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5845 @kindex / N (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5847 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5848 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5851 @kindex / o (Summary)
5852 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5853 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5854 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
5862 @cindex article threading
5864 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5865 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5866 hierarchical fashion.
5868 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5869 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5870 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5871 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5872 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5873 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5874 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5876 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5880 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5883 A tree-like article structure.
5886 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5889 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5890 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5891 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5892 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5893 called loose threads.
5895 @item thread gathering
5896 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5898 @item sparse threads
5899 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5900 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5906 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5907 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5911 @node Customizing Threading
5912 @subsection Customizing Threading
5913 @cindex customizing threading
5916 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5917 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5918 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5919 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5924 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5927 @cindex loose threads
5930 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5931 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5932 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5933 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5934 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5935 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5937 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5938 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5939 There are four possible values:
5943 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5944 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
5945 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
5946 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
5947 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
5952 @cindex adopting articles
5957 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5958 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5959 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5960 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5963 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5964 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5965 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5966 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5967 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5968 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5969 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5972 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5973 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5974 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5978 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5979 display them after one another.
5982 Don't gather loose threads.
5985 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5986 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5987 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5988 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5989 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5990 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5991 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5992 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5993 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5994 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5995 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5997 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5998 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5999 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6002 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6003 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6004 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6005 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6006 simplification is used.
6008 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6009 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6010 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6011 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6013 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6015 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6021 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6022 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6023 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6024 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6029 (mapconcat 'identity
6030 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6032 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6035 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6038 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6039 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6040 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6041 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6042 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6043 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6045 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6048 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6049 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6050 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6052 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6053 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6056 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6057 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6058 Remove excessive whitespace.
6061 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6064 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6065 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6066 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6067 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6068 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6069 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6070 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6071 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6073 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6074 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6075 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6076 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6077 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6078 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6079 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6080 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6081 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6085 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6086 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6087 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6088 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6090 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6091 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6092 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6095 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6099 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6100 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6106 @node Filling In Threads
6107 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6110 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6111 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6112 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6113 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6114 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6115 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6116 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6117 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6118 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6119 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6120 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6121 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6123 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6124 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6125 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6127 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6128 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6129 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6130 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6131 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6132 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6133 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6134 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6135 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6136 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6137 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6138 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6139 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6140 @code{nil} by default.
6142 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6143 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6144 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6145 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6146 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6147 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6148 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6150 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6151 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6152 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6157 @node More Threading
6158 @subsubsection More Threading
6161 @item gnus-show-threads
6162 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6163 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6164 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6165 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6166 slower and more awkward.
6168 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6169 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6170 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6173 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6174 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6175 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6176 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6177 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6178 threads are expunged.
6180 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6181 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6182 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6185 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6186 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6187 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6188 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6189 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6190 result in a new thread.
6192 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6193 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6194 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6197 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6198 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6199 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6200 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6201 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6202 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6203 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6204 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6205 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6206 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6207 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6212 @node Low-Level Threading
6213 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6217 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6218 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6219 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6221 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6222 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6223 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6224 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6225 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6226 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6227 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6228 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6229 meaningful. Here's one example:
6232 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6234 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6235 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6237 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6239 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6246 @node Thread Commands
6247 @subsection Thread Commands
6248 @cindex thread commands
6254 @kindex T k (Summary)
6255 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6257 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6259 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6264 @kindex T l (Summary)
6265 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6266 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6267 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6268 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6271 @kindex T i (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6273 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6277 @kindex T # (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6279 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6280 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6283 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6284 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6285 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6286 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6289 @kindex T T (Summary)
6290 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6291 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6294 @kindex T s (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6296 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6300 @kindex T h (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6302 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6305 @kindex T S (Summary)
6306 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6307 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6310 @kindex T H (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6312 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6315 @kindex T t (Summary)
6316 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6317 Re-thread the current article's thread
6318 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6319 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6322 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6324 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6325 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6329 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6330 understand the numeric prefix.
6335 @kindex T n (Summary)
6337 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6339 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6341 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6344 @kindex T p (Summary)
6346 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6348 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6349 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6350 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6353 @kindex T d (Summary)
6354 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6355 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6358 @kindex T u (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6360 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6363 @kindex T o (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6365 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6368 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6369 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6370 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6371 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6372 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6373 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6374 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6375 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6376 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6377 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6378 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6379 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6383 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6384 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6386 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6387 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6388 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6389 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6390 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6391 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6392 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6393 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6394 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6395 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6396 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6398 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6399 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6400 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6401 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6402 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6404 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6405 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6406 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6408 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6409 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6410 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6411 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6412 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6413 ascending article order.
6415 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6416 by number, you could do something like:
6419 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6420 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6421 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6422 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6425 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6426 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6427 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6428 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6429 which the articles arrived.
6431 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6435 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6437 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6438 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6441 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6442 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6443 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6444 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6447 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6448 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6449 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6450 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6451 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6452 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6453 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6454 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6455 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6456 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6457 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6458 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6459 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6461 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6465 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6466 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6467 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6472 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6473 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6474 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6475 @cindex article pre-fetch
6478 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6479 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6480 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6481 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6482 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6484 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6485 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6487 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6488 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6489 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6490 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6491 connection is blocked.
6493 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6494 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6495 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6496 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6498 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6499 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6500 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6501 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6504 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6507 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6508 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6509 happen automatically.
6511 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6512 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6513 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6514 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6515 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6516 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6517 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6519 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6520 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6521 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6522 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6523 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6524 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6525 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6526 data structure as the only parameter.
6528 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6531 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6532 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6533 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6534 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6537 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6540 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6541 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6542 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6544 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6545 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6546 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6547 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6551 Remove articles when they are read.
6554 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6557 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6559 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6560 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6561 @c from the next group.
6564 @node Article Caching
6565 @section Article Caching
6566 @cindex article caching
6569 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6570 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6571 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6572 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6573 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6575 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6577 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6578 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6579 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6580 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6581 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6582 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6583 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6584 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6586 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6587 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6588 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6589 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6590 as dormant, and don't worry.
6592 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6594 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6595 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6596 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6597 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6598 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6599 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6600 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6601 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6602 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6603 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6605 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6606 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6607 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6608 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6609 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6610 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6611 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6612 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6613 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6614 not then be downloaded by this command.
6616 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6617 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6618 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6619 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6620 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6621 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6623 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6624 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6625 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6626 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6627 variables, the group is not cached.
6629 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6630 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6631 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6632 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6633 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6634 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6635 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6636 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6637 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6641 @node Persistent Articles
6642 @section Persistent Articles
6643 @cindex persistent articles
6645 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6646 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6647 useful in my opinion.
6649 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6650 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6651 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6652 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6653 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6654 the expiry going on at the news server.
6656 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6657 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6658 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6664 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6665 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6668 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6669 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6670 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6671 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6675 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6677 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6678 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6679 interested in persistent articles:
6682 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6686 @node Article Backlog
6687 @section Article Backlog
6689 @cindex article backlog
6691 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6692 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6693 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6694 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6695 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6696 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6697 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6698 increase memory usage some.
6700 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6701 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6702 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6703 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6704 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6705 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6706 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6708 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6711 @node Saving Articles
6712 @section Saving Articles
6713 @cindex saving articles
6715 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6716 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6717 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6718 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6719 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6721 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6722 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6723 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6725 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6726 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6727 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6728 deleted before saving.
6734 @kindex O o (Summary)
6736 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6737 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6738 Save the current article using the default article saver
6739 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6742 @kindex O m (Summary)
6743 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6744 Save the current article in mail format
6745 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6748 @kindex O r (Summary)
6749 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6750 Save the current article in rmail format
6751 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6754 @kindex O f (Summary)
6755 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6756 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6757 Save the current article in plain file format
6758 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6761 @kindex O F (Summary)
6762 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6763 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6764 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6767 @kindex O b (Summary)
6768 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6769 Save the current article body in plain file format
6770 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6773 @kindex O h (Summary)
6774 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6775 Save the current article in mh folder format
6776 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6779 @kindex O v (Summary)
6780 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6781 Save the current article in a VM folder
6782 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6786 @kindex O p (Summary)
6788 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6789 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6790 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6793 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6794 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6795 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6796 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6797 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6798 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6799 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6800 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6801 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6802 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6803 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6804 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6808 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6809 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6810 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6811 functions below, or you can create your own.
6815 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6816 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6817 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6818 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6819 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6820 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6821 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6823 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6824 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6825 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6826 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6827 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6828 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6830 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6831 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6832 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6833 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6834 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6835 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6836 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6838 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6839 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6840 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6841 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6842 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6844 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6845 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6846 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6847 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6848 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6851 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6852 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6853 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6854 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6855 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6857 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6858 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6859 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6860 reader to use this setting.
6863 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6864 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6865 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6866 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6869 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6870 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6871 available functions that generate names:
6875 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6876 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6877 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6879 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6880 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6881 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6883 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6884 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6885 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6887 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6888 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6889 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6891 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6892 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6893 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6896 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6897 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6898 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6899 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6900 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6904 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6905 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6906 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6907 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6910 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6911 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6912 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6913 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6914 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6915 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6916 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6917 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6918 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6920 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6921 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6922 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6923 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6925 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6926 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6927 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6930 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6931 lots of mail groups called things like
6932 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6933 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6934 following will do just that:
6937 (defun my-save-name (group)
6938 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6939 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6941 (setq gnus-split-methods
6942 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6947 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6948 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6949 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6950 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6951 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6952 all the files in the top level directory
6953 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6954 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6955 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6956 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6958 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6959 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6960 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6961 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6962 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6965 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6969 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6970 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6971 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6974 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6975 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6976 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6977 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6980 @node Decoding Articles
6981 @section Decoding Articles
6982 @cindex decoding articles
6984 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6985 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6988 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6989 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6990 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6991 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6992 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6993 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6997 @cindex article series
6998 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6999 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7000 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7001 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7002 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7004 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7005 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7006 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7008 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7009 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7010 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7012 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7013 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7014 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7017 @node Uuencoded Articles
7018 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7020 @cindex uuencoded articles
7025 @kindex X u (Summary)
7026 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7027 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7028 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7031 @kindex X U (Summary)
7032 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7033 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7034 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7037 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7038 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7039 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7042 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7043 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7044 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7045 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7049 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7050 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7051 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7052 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7053 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7055 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7056 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7057 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7058 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7061 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7062 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7063 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7064 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7065 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7066 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7070 @node Shell Archives
7071 @subsection Shell Archives
7073 @cindex shell archives
7074 @cindex shared articles
7076 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7077 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7078 some commands to deal with these:
7083 @kindex X s (Summary)
7084 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7085 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7088 @kindex X S (Summary)
7089 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7090 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7093 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7094 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7095 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7098 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7099 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7100 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7101 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7105 @node PostScript Files
7106 @subsection PostScript Files
7112 @kindex X p (Summary)
7113 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7114 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7117 @kindex X P (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7119 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7120 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7123 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7125 View the current PostScript series
7126 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7129 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7131 View and save the current PostScript series
7132 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7137 @subsection Other Files
7141 @kindex X o (Summary)
7142 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7143 Save the current series
7144 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7147 @kindex X b (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7149 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7150 doesn't really work yet.
7154 @node Decoding Variables
7155 @subsection Decoding Variables
7157 Adjective, not verb.
7160 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7161 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7162 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7166 @node Rule Variables
7167 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7168 @cindex rule variables
7170 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7171 variables are of the form
7174 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7181 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7182 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7184 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7185 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7188 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7189 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7192 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7193 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7194 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7195 user and default view rules.
7197 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7198 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7199 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7204 @node Other Decode Variables
7205 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7208 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7210 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7211 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7212 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7213 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7214 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7218 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7219 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7222 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7223 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7224 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7227 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7228 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7229 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7230 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7231 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7234 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7235 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7236 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7238 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7239 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7240 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7241 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7242 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7245 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7246 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7247 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7249 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7250 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7251 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7252 looking for files to display.
7254 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7255 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7256 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7259 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7260 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7261 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7264 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7265 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7266 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7269 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7270 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7271 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7274 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7275 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7276 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7277 decoded articles as unread.
7279 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7280 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7281 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7282 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7284 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7285 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7286 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7288 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7289 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7291 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7292 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7293 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7294 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7296 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7297 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7298 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7299 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7300 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7301 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7302 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7303 simply dropped them.
7308 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7309 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7313 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7314 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7315 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7316 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7317 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7318 for you when you post the article.
7320 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7321 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7322 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7323 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7325 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7326 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7327 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7328 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7329 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7330 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7331 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7333 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7334 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7335 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7336 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7337 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7338 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7339 Default is @code{t}.
7345 @subsection Viewing Files
7346 @cindex viewing files
7347 @cindex pseudo-articles
7349 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7350 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7351 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7352 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7353 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7354 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7355 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7357 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7358 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7359 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7360 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7362 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7363 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7364 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7366 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7367 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7368 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7369 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7370 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7372 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7373 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7374 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7375 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7376 a list of parameters to that command.
7378 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7379 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7380 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7382 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7383 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7384 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7387 @node Article Treatment
7388 @section Article Treatment
7390 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7391 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7392 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7393 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7394 these articles easier.
7397 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7398 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7399 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7400 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7401 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7402 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7403 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7404 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7408 @node Article Highlighting
7409 @subsection Article Highlighting
7410 @cindex highlighting
7412 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7413 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7418 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7420 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7421 Do much highlighting of the current article
7422 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7423 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7426 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7427 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7428 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7429 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7430 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7431 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7432 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7433 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7434 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7435 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7436 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7437 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7440 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7442 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7444 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7447 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7449 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7450 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7451 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7453 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7454 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7455 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7457 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7458 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7459 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7460 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7461 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7462 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7464 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7465 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7466 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7468 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7469 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7470 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7472 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7473 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7474 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7475 that it's a citation.
7477 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7478 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7479 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7481 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7482 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7483 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7485 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7486 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7487 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7488 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7494 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7495 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7496 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7497 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7498 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7499 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7500 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7501 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7506 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7509 @node Article Fontisizing
7510 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7512 @cindex article emphasis
7514 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7515 @kindex W e (Summary)
7516 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7517 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7518 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7519 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7521 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7522 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7523 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7524 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7525 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7526 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7527 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7528 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7532 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7533 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7534 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7543 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7544 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7545 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7546 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7547 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7548 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7549 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7550 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7551 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7552 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7553 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7554 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7555 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7557 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7558 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7559 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7563 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7566 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7568 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7569 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7570 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7571 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7573 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7576 @node Article Hiding
7577 @subsection Article Hiding
7578 @cindex article hiding
7580 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7581 too much cruft in most articles.
7586 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7587 @findex gnus-article-hide
7588 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7589 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7590 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7593 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7594 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7595 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7599 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7600 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7601 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7602 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7605 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7606 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7607 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7611 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7612 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7613 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7614 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7615 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7616 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7617 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7618 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7622 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7623 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7624 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7625 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7630 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7631 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7632 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7633 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7634 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7635 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7636 articles that have signatures in them do:
7638 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7640 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7642 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7643 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7645 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7648 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7653 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7654 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7655 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7656 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7659 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7660 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7663 @cindex stripping advertisements
7664 @cindex advertisements
7665 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7666 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7667 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7668 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7669 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7670 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7671 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7672 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7673 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7674 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7678 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7679 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7680 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7681 customizing the hiding:
7685 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7686 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7687 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7688 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7689 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7690 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7691 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7696 Starting point of the hidden text.
7698 Ending point of the hidden text.
7700 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7702 Number of lines of hidden text.
7705 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7706 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7707 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7708 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7709 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7714 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7717 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7718 following two variables:
7721 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7722 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7723 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7724 50), hide the cited text.
7726 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7727 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7728 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7733 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7734 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7735 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7736 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7737 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7738 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7742 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7743 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7744 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7746 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7747 citation customization.
7749 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7753 @node Article Washing
7754 @subsection Article Washing
7756 @cindex article washing
7758 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7759 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7761 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7762 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7765 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7766 articles by default.
7771 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7772 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7776 @kindex W l (Summary)
7777 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7778 Remove page breaks from the current article
7779 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7783 @kindex W r (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7785 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7786 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7787 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7788 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7789 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7791 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7792 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7793 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7794 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7798 @kindex W t (Summary)
7800 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7801 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7802 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7805 @kindex W v (Summary)
7806 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7807 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7808 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7811 @kindex W o (Summary)
7812 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7813 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7816 @kindex W d (Summary)
7817 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7818 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7820 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7822 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7823 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7824 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7825 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7828 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7829 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7830 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7831 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7834 @kindex W w (Summary)
7835 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7836 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7838 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7842 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7843 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7844 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7847 @kindex W C (Summary)
7848 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7849 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7850 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7853 @kindex W c (Summary)
7854 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7855 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7856 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7857 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7858 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7861 @kindex W q (Summary)
7862 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7863 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7864 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7865 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7866 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7867 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7868 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7869 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7870 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7873 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7874 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7875 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7876 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7877 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7878 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7879 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7881 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7884 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7885 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7886 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7887 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7888 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7891 @kindex W h (Summary)
7892 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7893 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7894 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7895 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7897 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7900 @kindex W f (Summary)
7902 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7903 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7904 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7905 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7912 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7913 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7914 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7915 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7916 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7917 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7918 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7919 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7920 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7921 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7922 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7923 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7924 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7925 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7926 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7927 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7928 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7929 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7930 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7931 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7935 @kindex W b (Summary)
7936 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7937 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7938 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7941 @kindex W B (Summary)
7942 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7943 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7944 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7947 @kindex W p (Summary)
7948 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7949 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7950 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7951 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7952 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7953 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7954 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7957 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7958 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7959 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7960 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7963 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7964 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7965 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7966 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7969 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7970 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7971 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7972 lines with a single empty line.
7973 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7976 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7977 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7978 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7979 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7982 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7983 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7984 Do all the three commands above
7985 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7988 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7989 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7990 Remove all blank lines
7991 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7994 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7996 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7997 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8000 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8002 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8003 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8007 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8010 @node Article Buttons
8011 @subsection Article Buttons
8014 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8015 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8016 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8017 button on these references.
8019 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8020 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8021 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8026 @item gnus-button-alist
8027 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8028 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8031 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8037 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8038 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8039 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8042 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8043 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8044 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8047 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8048 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8049 avoid false matches.
8052 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8055 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8056 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8060 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8063 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8066 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8067 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8068 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8069 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8070 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8073 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8076 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8078 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8079 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8080 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8081 default values of the variables above.
8083 @item gnus-article-button-face
8084 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8085 Face used on buttons.
8087 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8088 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8089 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8093 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8097 @subsection Article Date
8099 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8100 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8101 when the article was sent.
8106 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8107 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8108 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8109 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8112 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8113 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8115 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8116 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8119 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8120 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8121 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8124 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8125 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8126 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8127 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8130 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8131 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8132 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8133 @findex format-time-string
8134 Display the date using a user-defined format
8135 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8136 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8137 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8138 for a list of possible format specs.
8141 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8142 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8143 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8144 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8145 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8146 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8149 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8152 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8153 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8156 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8157 into wonderful absurdities.
8159 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8162 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8165 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8166 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8170 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8171 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8172 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8173 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8174 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8175 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8176 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8180 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8181 preferred format automatically.
8184 @node Article Signature
8185 @subsection Article Signature
8187 @cindex article signature
8189 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8190 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8191 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8192 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8193 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8194 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8195 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8196 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8197 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8200 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8201 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8202 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8203 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8204 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8205 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8206 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8207 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8210 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8213 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8214 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8215 signature when displaying articles.
8219 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8222 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8225 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8226 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8228 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8229 in question is not a signature.
8232 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8233 listed above. Here's an example:
8236 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8237 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8240 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8241 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8242 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8243 signature after all.
8246 @node Article Miscellania
8247 @subsection Article Miscellania
8251 @kindex A t (Summary)
8252 @findex gnus-article-babel
8253 Translate the article from one language to another
8254 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8260 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8261 @cindex MIME decoding
8263 @cindex viewing attachments
8265 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8266 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8272 @kindex K v (Summary)
8273 View the @sc{mime} part.
8276 @kindex K o (Summary)
8277 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8280 @kindex K c (Summary)
8281 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8284 @kindex K e (Summary)
8285 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8288 @kindex K i (Summary)
8289 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8292 @kindex K | (Summary)
8293 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8296 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8301 @kindex K b (Summary)
8302 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8303 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8307 @kindex K m (Summary)
8308 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8309 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8310 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8311 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8312 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8315 @kindex X m (Summary)
8316 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8317 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8318 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8319 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8322 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8323 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8324 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8325 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8328 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8329 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8330 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8333 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8334 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8335 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8337 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8338 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8339 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8340 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8341 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8342 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8345 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8346 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8347 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8354 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8355 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8356 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8357 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8360 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8363 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8367 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8368 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8369 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8370 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8371 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8372 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8375 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8376 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8377 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8378 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8379 displayed. This variable overrides
8380 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8382 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8383 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8384 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8386 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8387 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8388 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8389 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8390 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8391 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8392 save all jpegs into some directory).
8394 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8397 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8398 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8400 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8401 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8402 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8403 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8404 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8407 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8408 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8409 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8411 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8412 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8413 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8414 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8416 Ready-made functions include@*
8417 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8418 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8419 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8420 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8421 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8422 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8423 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8424 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8425 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8426 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8427 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8428 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8430 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8431 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8433 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8434 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8435 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8438 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8439 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8440 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8441 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8445 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8454 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8455 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8456 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8457 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8458 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8459 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8460 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8462 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8463 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8464 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8465 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8467 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8468 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8469 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8470 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8471 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8472 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8473 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8474 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8476 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8477 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8478 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8479 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8480 quoted-printable header encoding.
8482 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8483 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8484 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8488 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8491 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8492 means encode all charsets),
8494 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8495 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8496 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8503 @cindex coding system aliases
8504 @cindex preferred charset
8506 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8508 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8509 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8512 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8513 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8516 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8517 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8519 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8522 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8525 This will almost do the right thing.
8527 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8531 (codepage-setup 1251)
8532 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8536 @node Article Commands
8537 @section Article Commands
8544 @kindex A P (Summary)
8545 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8546 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8547 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8548 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8549 run just before printing the buffer.
8554 @node Summary Sorting
8555 @section Summary Sorting
8556 @cindex summary sorting
8558 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8559 can't really see why you'd want that.
8564 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8566 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8569 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8570 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8571 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8574 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8576 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8579 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8580 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8581 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8584 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8586 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8589 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8590 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8591 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8594 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8595 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8596 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8599 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8600 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8601 Sort using the default sorting method
8602 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8605 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8606 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8607 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8608 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8609 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8613 @node Finding the Parent
8614 @section Finding the Parent
8615 @cindex parent articles
8616 @cindex referring articles
8621 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8622 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8623 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8624 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8625 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8626 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8627 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8628 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8629 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8631 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8632 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8633 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8634 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8635 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8639 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8640 @kindex A R (Summary)
8641 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8642 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8645 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8646 @kindex A T (Summary)
8647 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8648 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8649 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8650 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8651 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8652 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8653 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8655 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8656 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8657 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8658 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8659 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8660 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8663 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8664 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8666 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8667 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8668 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8669 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8670 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8671 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8672 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8675 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8676 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8677 by giving this command a prefix.
8679 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8680 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8681 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8682 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8683 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8684 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8687 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8688 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8689 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8692 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8693 then ask Deja if that fails:
8696 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8698 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8701 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8702 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8703 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8704 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8705 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8706 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8710 @node Alternative Approaches
8711 @section Alternative Approaches
8713 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8714 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8717 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8718 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8723 @subsection Pick and Read
8724 @cindex pick and read
8726 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8727 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8728 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8729 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8731 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8732 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8733 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8734 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8735 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8736 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8738 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8743 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8744 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8745 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8746 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8747 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8748 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8749 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8750 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8753 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8754 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8755 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8756 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8760 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8761 Unpick the thread or article
8762 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8763 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8764 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8765 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8766 the thread or article at that line.
8770 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8771 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8772 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8773 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8774 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8775 will still be visible when you are reading.
8779 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8780 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8781 which is mapped to the same function
8782 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8784 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8787 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8790 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8791 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8793 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8794 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8795 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8797 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8798 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8799 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8800 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8801 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8802 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8803 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8807 @subsection Binary Groups
8808 @cindex binary groups
8810 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8811 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8812 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8813 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8814 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8815 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8816 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8819 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8820 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8821 command, when you have turned on this mode
8822 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8824 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8825 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8829 @section Tree Display
8832 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8833 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8834 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8835 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8838 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8841 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8842 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8843 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8845 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8846 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8847 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8848 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8849 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8851 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8852 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8853 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8854 default is @code{modeline}.
8856 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8857 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8858 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8859 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8860 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8861 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8862 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8868 The name of the poster.
8870 The @code{From} header.
8872 The number of the article.
8874 The opening bracket.
8876 The closing bracket.
8881 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8883 Variables related to the display are:
8886 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8887 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8888 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8889 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8890 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8891 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8893 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8894 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8895 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8896 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8900 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8901 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8902 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8903 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8904 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8905 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8906 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8907 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8908 other windows displayed next to it.
8910 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8911 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8912 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8913 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8914 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8915 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8916 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8920 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8923 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8933 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8937 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8938 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8940 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8942 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8947 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8948 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8949 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8952 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8953 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8954 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8955 (gnus-add-configuration
8959 (summary 0.75 point)
8964 @xref{Window Layout}.
8967 @node Mail Group Commands
8968 @section Mail Group Commands
8969 @cindex mail group commands
8971 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8972 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8974 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8975 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8980 @kindex B e (Summary)
8981 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8982 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8983 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8984 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8985 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8988 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8990 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8991 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8992 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8993 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8996 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8997 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8998 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8999 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9000 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9001 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9004 @kindex B m (Summary)
9006 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9007 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9008 Move the article from one mail group to another
9009 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9010 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9013 @kindex B c (Summary)
9015 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9016 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9017 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9018 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9019 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9022 @kindex B B (Summary)
9023 @cindex crosspost mail
9024 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9025 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9026 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9027 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9028 be properly updated.
9031 @kindex B i (Summary)
9032 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9033 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9034 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9035 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9038 @kindex B r (Summary)
9039 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9040 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9041 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9042 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9043 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9044 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9045 (which is the default).
9049 @kindex B w (Summary)
9051 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9052 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9053 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9054 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9055 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9056 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9059 @kindex B q (Summary)
9060 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9061 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9062 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9063 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9066 @kindex B t (Summary)
9067 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9068 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9069 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9072 @kindex B p (Summary)
9073 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9074 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9075 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9076 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9077 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9078 article from your news server (or rather, from
9079 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9080 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9081 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9082 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9083 just not have arrived yet.
9087 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9088 @cindex moving articles
9089 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9090 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9091 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9092 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9093 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9094 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9095 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9098 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9099 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9100 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9101 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9105 @node Various Summary Stuff
9106 @section Various Summary Stuff
9109 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9110 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9111 * Summary Generation Commands::
9112 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9116 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9117 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9118 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9120 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9121 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9122 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9123 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9124 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9125 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9128 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9129 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9130 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9131 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9132 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9134 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9135 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9136 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9139 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9140 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9141 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9142 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9143 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9144 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9145 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9146 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9147 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9148 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9150 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9151 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9152 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9153 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9154 list of articles to be selected.
9156 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9157 the list in one particular group:
9160 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9161 (if (string= group "some.group")
9162 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9169 @node Summary Group Information
9170 @subsection Summary Group Information
9175 @kindex H f (Summary)
9176 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9177 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9178 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9179 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9180 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9181 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9182 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9183 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9184 be used for fetching the file.
9187 @kindex H d (Summary)
9188 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9189 Give a brief description of the current group
9190 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9191 rereading the description from the server.
9194 @kindex H h (Summary)
9195 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9196 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9197 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9200 @kindex H i (Summary)
9201 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9202 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9206 @node Searching for Articles
9207 @subsection Searching for Articles
9212 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9213 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9214 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9215 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9218 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9219 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9220 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9221 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9225 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9226 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9227 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9228 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9229 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9230 search backward instead.
9232 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9233 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9236 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9237 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9238 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9239 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9242 @node Summary Generation Commands
9243 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9248 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9249 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9250 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9253 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9254 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9255 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9256 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9261 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9262 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9268 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9269 @kindex A D (Summary)
9270 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9271 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9272 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9273 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9274 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9275 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9276 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9277 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9281 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9282 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9283 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9284 several documents into one biiig group
9285 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9286 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9287 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9288 command understands the process/prefix convention
9289 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9292 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9293 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9294 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9295 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9296 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9297 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9301 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9302 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9303 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9306 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9307 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9308 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9309 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9312 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9313 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9314 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9315 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9320 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9321 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9322 @cindex summary exit
9323 @cindex exiting groups
9325 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9326 group and return you to the group buffer.
9332 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9334 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9335 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9336 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9338 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9339 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9340 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9341 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9342 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9343 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9344 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9348 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9350 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9351 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9352 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9356 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9358 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9359 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9360 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9361 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9364 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9365 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9366 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9367 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9370 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9371 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9372 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9373 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9376 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9377 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9378 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9379 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9380 all articles, both read and unread.
9384 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9385 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9388 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9389 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9390 articles, both read and unread.
9393 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9394 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9395 Exit the group and go to the next group
9396 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9399 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9400 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9401 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9402 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9405 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9406 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9407 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9408 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9409 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9410 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9413 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9414 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9415 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9416 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9418 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9419 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9420 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9421 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9422 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9423 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9424 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9425 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9426 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9427 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9428 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9429 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9431 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9433 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9434 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9435 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9436 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9437 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9438 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9439 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9440 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9441 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9444 @node Crosspost Handling
9445 @section Crosspost Handling
9449 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9450 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9451 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9452 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9453 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9454 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9457 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9458 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9459 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9460 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9461 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9463 @cindex cross-posting
9466 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9467 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9468 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9469 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9470 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9471 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9472 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9473 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9474 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9475 the cross reference mechanism.
9477 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9478 @cindex overview.fmt
9479 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9480 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9481 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9482 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9483 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9484 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9487 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9488 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9489 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9494 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9497 @node Duplicate Suppression
9498 @section Duplicate Suppression
9500 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9501 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9502 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9503 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9508 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9509 is evil and not very common.
9512 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9513 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9516 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9517 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9520 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9523 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9524 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9526 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9527 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9528 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9529 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9530 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9531 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9532 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9535 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9536 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9537 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9538 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9539 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9543 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9544 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9545 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9547 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9548 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9549 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9550 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9551 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9552 session are suppressed.
9554 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9555 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9556 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9557 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9559 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9560 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9561 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9562 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9565 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9566 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9567 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9568 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9569 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9570 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9571 to you to figure out, I think.
9576 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9577 The formats that are supported are PGP and S/MIME, however you need
9578 some external programs to get things to work:
9582 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9583 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9586 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9587 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9591 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9592 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9595 @item mm-verify-option
9596 @vindex mm-verify-option
9597 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9598 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9599 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9601 @item mm-decrypt-option
9602 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9603 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9604 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9605 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9610 @section Mailing List
9612 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9613 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9614 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9617 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9620 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9625 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9626 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9627 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9630 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9631 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9632 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9635 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9636 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9637 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9641 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9642 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9643 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9646 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9647 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9648 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9651 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9652 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9653 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9657 @node Article Buffer
9658 @chapter Article Buffer
9659 @cindex article buffer
9661 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9662 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9663 tell Gnus otherwise.
9666 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9667 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9668 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9669 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9670 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9674 @node Hiding Headers
9675 @section Hiding Headers
9676 @cindex hiding headers
9677 @cindex deleting headers
9679 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9680 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9682 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9683 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9684 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9685 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9686 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9687 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9688 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9689 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9690 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9692 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9696 @item gnus-visible-headers
9697 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9698 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9699 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9700 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9702 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9703 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9706 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9709 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9712 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9713 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9714 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9715 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9716 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9717 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9719 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9720 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9723 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9726 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9729 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9730 variable will have no effect.
9734 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9735 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9736 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9737 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9738 the headers are to be displayed.
9740 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9741 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9744 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9747 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9748 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9750 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9751 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9752 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9753 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9754 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9755 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9756 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9759 These conditions are:
9762 Remove all empty headers.
9764 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9765 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9767 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9770 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9773 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9774 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9776 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9779 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9781 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9784 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9787 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9788 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9791 This is also the default value for this variable.
9795 @section Using @sc{mime}
9798 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9799 while people stand around yawning.
9801 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9802 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9804 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9805 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9806 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9808 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9809 @findex gnus-display-mime
9810 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9811 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9812 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9813 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9815 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9819 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9821 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9822 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9823 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9825 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9826 @item M-RET (Article)
9828 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9829 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9831 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9833 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9834 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9836 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9838 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9839 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9841 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9843 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9844 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9846 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9848 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9849 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9850 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9851 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9852 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9853 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9855 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9857 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9858 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9860 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9862 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9863 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9864 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9865 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9866 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9869 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9871 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9872 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9873 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9875 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9877 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9878 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9880 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9882 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9884 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9886 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9887 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9891 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9892 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9895 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9896 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9897 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9898 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9899 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9900 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9901 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9902 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9903 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9905 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9907 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9910 @node Customizing Articles
9911 @section Customizing Articles
9912 @cindex article customization
9914 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9915 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9916 called automatically when you select the articles.
9918 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9919 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9920 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9921 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9923 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9924 for sensible values.
9928 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9931 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9934 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9937 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9940 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9944 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9945 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9946 regexps in the list.
9949 A list where the first element is not a string:
9951 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9952 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9953 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9957 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9962 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9963 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9964 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9965 considered to contain just a single part.
9967 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9968 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9969 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9970 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9971 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9972 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9973 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9975 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9976 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9977 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9978 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9981 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9982 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9983 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9984 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9985 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9986 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9987 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9988 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9989 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9990 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9991 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9992 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9993 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9994 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9995 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9996 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9997 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9998 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9999 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10000 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10001 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10002 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10003 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10004 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10005 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10006 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10007 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10008 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10009 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10010 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10011 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10012 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
10013 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10014 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10015 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10016 @item gnus-treat-translate
10019 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10020 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10021 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10022 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10023 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10027 @node Article Keymap
10028 @section Article Keymap
10030 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10031 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10032 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10033 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10036 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10041 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10042 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10043 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10046 @kindex DEL (Article)
10047 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10048 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10051 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10052 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10053 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10054 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10055 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10058 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10059 @findex gnus-article-mail
10060 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10061 given a prefix, include the mail.
10064 @kindex s (Article)
10065 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10066 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10067 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10070 @kindex ? (Article)
10071 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10072 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10073 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10076 @kindex TAB (Article)
10077 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10078 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10079 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10082 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10083 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10084 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10090 @section Misc Article
10094 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10095 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10096 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10097 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10100 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10101 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10103 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10104 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10106 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10107 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10108 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10109 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10110 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10111 the contents of the article buffer.
10113 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10114 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10115 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10117 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10118 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10119 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10120 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10122 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10123 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10124 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10125 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10126 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10132 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10133 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10134 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10139 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10142 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10145 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10146 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10147 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10150 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10153 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10156 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10161 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10165 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10167 @item gnus-break-pages
10168 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10169 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10170 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10171 paging will not be done.
10173 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10174 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10175 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10180 @node Composing Messages
10181 @chapter Composing Messages
10182 @cindex composing messages
10185 @cindex sending mail
10191 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10192 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10193 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10194 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10195 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10196 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10199 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10200 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10201 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10202 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10203 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10204 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10205 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10206 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10209 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10210 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10216 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10219 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10220 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10221 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10222 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10224 @item gnus-add-to-list
10225 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10226 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10227 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10232 @node Posting Server
10233 @section Posting Server
10235 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10236 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10238 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10240 @vindex gnus-post-method
10242 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10243 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10244 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10245 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10246 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10247 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10248 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10251 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10254 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10255 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10256 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10257 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10259 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10260 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10262 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10263 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10266 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10267 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10270 @node Mail and Post
10271 @section Mail and Post
10273 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10277 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10278 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10279 @cindex mailing lists
10281 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10282 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10283 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10284 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10285 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10286 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10287 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10288 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10289 still a pain, though.
10293 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10294 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10295 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10298 @findex ispell-message
10300 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10303 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10304 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10307 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10311 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10312 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10314 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10317 Modify to suit your needs.
10320 @node Archived Messages
10321 @section Archived Messages
10322 @cindex archived messages
10323 @cindex sent messages
10325 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10326 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10327 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10328 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10331 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10332 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10333 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10336 (nnfolder "archive"
10337 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10338 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10339 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10340 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10343 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10344 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10345 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10346 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10349 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10350 '(nnfolder "archive"
10351 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10352 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10353 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10356 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10358 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10359 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10360 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10362 This variable can be used to do the following:
10366 Messages will be saved in that group.
10368 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10369 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10370 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10371 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10372 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10373 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10374 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10375 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10377 @item a list of strings
10378 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10379 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10380 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10382 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10387 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10389 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10392 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10394 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10397 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10399 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10400 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10401 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10402 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10405 More complex stuff:
10407 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10408 '((if (message-news-p)
10413 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10414 messages in one file per month:
10417 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10418 '((if (message-news-p)
10420 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10423 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10424 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10426 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10427 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10428 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10429 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10430 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10431 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10432 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10433 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10434 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10435 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10437 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10438 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10439 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10440 this will disable archiving.
10443 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10444 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10445 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10446 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10447 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10450 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10451 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10452 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10455 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10456 but the latter is the preferred method.
10458 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10459 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10460 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10465 @node Posting Styles
10466 @section Posting Styles
10467 @cindex posting styles
10470 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10472 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10473 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10474 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10477 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10478 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10479 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10480 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10481 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10486 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10487 (organization "What me?"))
10489 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10490 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10491 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10494 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10495 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10496 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10497 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10498 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10499 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10500 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10501 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10503 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10504 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10505 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10506 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10507 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10508 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10509 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10510 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10511 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10513 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10514 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10515 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10516 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10517 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10518 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10519 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10520 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10521 result is thrown away.
10523 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10524 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10525 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10526 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10527 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10528 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10530 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10531 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10532 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10534 @findex message-mail-p
10535 @findex message-news-p
10537 So here's a new example:
10540 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10542 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10544 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10545 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10547 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10548 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10549 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10551 (signature my-news-signature))
10552 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10553 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10554 ((posting-from-work-p)
10555 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10556 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10557 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10558 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10560 (From (save-excursion
10561 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10562 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10564 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10567 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10568 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10569 if you fill many roles.
10576 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10577 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10578 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10579 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10580 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10582 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10583 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10584 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10585 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10586 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10590 @vindex nndraft-directory
10591 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10592 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10593 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10594 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10595 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10596 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10598 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10599 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10602 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10603 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10604 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10605 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10606 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10607 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10608 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10609 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10610 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10611 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10612 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10613 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10614 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10615 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10617 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10618 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10619 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10621 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10622 @kindex D e (Draft)
10623 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10624 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10625 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10627 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10630 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10631 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10632 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10633 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10634 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10635 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10636 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10639 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10640 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10641 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10644 @node Rejected Articles
10645 @section Rejected Articles
10646 @cindex rejected articles
10648 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10649 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10650 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10651 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10653 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10654 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10655 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10656 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10657 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10659 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10660 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10661 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10667 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10668 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10669 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10671 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10672 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10676 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10677 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10680 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10681 to 700, for your own safety.
10683 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10684 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10688 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10691 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10692 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10695 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10698 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10699 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10700 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10701 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10702 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10703 The Message Manual}.
10705 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10706 you've typed it correctly.
10708 @node Select Methods
10709 @chapter Select Methods
10710 @cindex foreign groups
10711 @cindex select methods
10713 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10714 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10715 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10716 personal mail group.
10718 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10719 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10720 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10721 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10722 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10723 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10725 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10726 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10728 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10731 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10732 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10733 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10734 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10735 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10737 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10740 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10741 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10742 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10743 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10744 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10745 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10746 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10747 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10751 @node Server Buffer
10752 @section Server Buffer
10754 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10755 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10756 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10757 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10758 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10759 back end represents a virtual server.
10761 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10762 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10763 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10764 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10766 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10767 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10768 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10769 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10770 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10771 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10772 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10774 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10775 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10778 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10779 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10780 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10781 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10782 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10783 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10784 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10787 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10788 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10791 @node Server Buffer Format
10792 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10793 @cindex server buffer format
10795 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10796 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10797 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10798 variable, with some simple extensions:
10803 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10806 The name of this server.
10809 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10812 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10815 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10816 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10817 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10818 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10828 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10831 @node Server Commands
10832 @subsection Server Commands
10833 @cindex server commands
10839 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10840 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10844 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10845 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10848 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10849 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10850 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10854 @findex gnus-server-exit
10855 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10859 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10860 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10864 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10865 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10869 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10870 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10874 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10875 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10879 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10880 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10881 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10886 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10887 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10888 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10889 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
10894 @node Example Methods
10895 @subsection Example Methods
10897 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10900 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10903 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10909 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10910 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10913 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10914 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10916 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10917 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10921 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10924 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
10925 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10927 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10928 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10929 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10933 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10936 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10939 Here's the method for a public spool:
10943 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10944 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10950 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10951 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10952 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10953 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10954 should probably look something like this:
10958 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10959 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10960 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10961 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10964 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10965 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10966 configuration to the example above:
10969 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10972 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10973 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10974 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10978 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10979 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10980 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10981 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10984 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10985 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10986 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10987 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10990 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10991 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10993 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10994 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10996 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10997 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10998 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11000 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11002 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11003 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11004 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11005 will contain the following:
11015 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11016 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11017 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11020 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11021 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11022 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11025 @node Server Variables
11026 @subsection Server Variables
11028 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11029 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11030 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11031 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11032 won't change the "derived" variables.
11034 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11035 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11036 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11037 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11038 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11039 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11040 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11041 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11042 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11046 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11047 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11048 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11052 @node Servers and Methods
11053 @subsection Servers and Methods
11055 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11056 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11057 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11058 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11062 @node Unavailable Servers
11063 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11065 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11066 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11067 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11068 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11069 actually the case or not.
11071 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11072 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11073 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11074 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11075 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11076 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11077 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11078 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11080 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11081 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11083 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11084 with the following commands:
11090 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11091 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11092 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11096 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11097 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11098 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11102 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11103 Mark the current server as unreachable
11104 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11107 @kindex M-o (Server)
11108 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11109 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11110 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11113 @kindex M-c (Server)
11114 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11115 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11116 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11120 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11121 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11122 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11128 @section Getting News
11129 @cindex reading news
11130 @cindex news back ends
11132 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11133 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11134 or it can read from a local spool.
11137 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11138 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11143 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11146 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11147 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11148 server as the, uhm, address.
11150 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11151 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11152 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11153 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11155 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11156 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11157 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11159 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11164 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11165 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11166 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11168 @cindex authentification
11169 @cindex nntp authentification
11170 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11171 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11172 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11173 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11174 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11175 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11176 present in this hook.
11178 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11179 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11180 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11181 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11182 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11183 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11184 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11185 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11186 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11187 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11188 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11189 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11193 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11196 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11198 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11199 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11200 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11201 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11202 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11203 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11204 @samp{force} is explained below.
11208 Here's an example file:
11211 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11212 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11215 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11216 have to be first, for instance.
11218 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11219 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11220 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11221 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11222 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11223 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11224 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11226 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11227 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11233 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11234 previously mentioned.
11236 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11238 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11239 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11240 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11241 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11242 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11245 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11246 '(("innd" (ding))))
11249 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11251 The default value is
11254 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11255 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11256 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11259 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11260 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11262 @item nntp-maximum-request
11263 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11264 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11265 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11266 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11267 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11268 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11269 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11271 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11272 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11273 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11274 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11275 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11276 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11277 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11278 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11279 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11280 no timeouts are done.
11282 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11283 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11284 @c @cindex PPP connections
11285 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11286 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11287 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11288 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11289 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11290 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11291 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11292 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11293 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11294 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11296 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11297 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11298 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11299 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11300 @c described above.
11302 @item nntp-server-hook
11303 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11304 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11307 @item nntp-buggy-select
11308 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11309 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11311 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11312 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11313 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11314 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11317 @item nntp-xover-commands
11318 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11321 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11322 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11326 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11327 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11328 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11329 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11330 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11331 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11332 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11333 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11334 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11335 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11336 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11338 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11339 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11340 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11342 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11343 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11344 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11345 server closes connection.
11347 @item nntp-record-commands
11348 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11349 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11350 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11351 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11352 that doesn't seem to work.
11354 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11355 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11356 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11357 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11358 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11359 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11360 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11361 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11365 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11366 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11367 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11371 @node Direct Functions
11372 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11373 @cindex direct connection functions
11375 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11376 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11377 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11378 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11381 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11382 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11383 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11386 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11387 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11388 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11389 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11390 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11391 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11392 define a server as follows:
11395 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11397 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11399 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11400 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11401 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11402 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11405 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11406 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11407 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11408 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11409 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11410 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11411 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11412 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11416 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11417 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11418 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11421 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11422 session, which is not a good idea.
11426 @node Indirect Functions
11427 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11428 @cindex indirect connection functions
11430 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11431 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11432 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11433 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11434 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11435 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11438 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11439 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11440 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11441 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11442 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11444 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11447 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11448 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11449 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11450 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11453 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11454 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11455 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11456 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11458 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11461 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11462 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11463 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11466 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11467 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11468 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11469 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11471 @item nntp-via-user-password
11472 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11473 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11475 @item nntp-via-envuser
11476 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11477 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11478 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11479 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11481 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11482 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11483 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11484 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11491 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11496 @item nntp-via-user-name
11497 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11498 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11500 @item nntp-via-address
11501 @vindex nntp-via-address
11502 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11507 @node Common Variables
11508 @subsubsection Common Variables
11510 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11511 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11516 @item nntp-pre-command
11517 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11518 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11519 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11520 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11521 wrapper for instance.
11524 @vindex nntp-address
11525 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11527 @item nntp-port-number
11528 @vindex nntp-port-number
11529 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11531 @item nntp-end-of-line
11532 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11533 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11534 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11535 using a non native connection function.
11537 @item nntp-telnet-command
11538 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11539 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11540 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11541 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11543 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11544 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11545 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11552 @subsection News Spool
11556 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11557 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11558 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11561 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11562 anything else) as the address.
11564 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11565 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11566 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11567 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11571 @item nnspool-inews-program
11572 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11573 Program used to post an article.
11575 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11576 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11577 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11579 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11580 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11581 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11582 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11584 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11585 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11586 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11587 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11589 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11590 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11591 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11593 @item nnspool-active-file
11594 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11595 The path to the active file.
11597 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11598 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11599 The path to the group descriptions file.
11601 @item nnspool-history-file
11602 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11603 The path to the news history file.
11605 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11606 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11607 The path to the active date file.
11609 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11610 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11611 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11614 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11615 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11617 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11618 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11619 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11625 @section Getting Mail
11626 @cindex reading mail
11629 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11633 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11634 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11635 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11636 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11637 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11638 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11639 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11640 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11641 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11642 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11643 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11644 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11645 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11646 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11650 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11651 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11653 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11654 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11655 of a culture shock.
11657 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11658 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11660 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11661 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11662 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11663 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11665 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11667 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11668 deleted? How awful!
11670 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11671 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11672 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11673 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11676 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11677 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11678 they want to treat a message.
11680 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11681 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11682 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11683 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11684 archived somewhere else.
11686 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11687 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11688 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11689 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11690 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11692 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11693 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11694 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11696 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11697 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11700 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11701 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11702 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11703 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11704 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11706 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11707 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11708 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11709 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11710 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11711 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11715 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11716 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11718 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11719 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11720 and things will happen automatically.
11722 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11723 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11726 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11729 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11730 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11731 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11732 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11733 like any other group.
11735 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11738 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11739 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11740 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11744 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11745 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11746 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11749 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11750 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11751 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11754 @node Splitting Mail
11755 @subsection Splitting Mail
11756 @cindex splitting mail
11757 @cindex mail splitting
11759 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11760 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11761 to be split into groups.
11764 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11765 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11766 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11767 ("mail.other" "")))
11770 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11771 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11772 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11773 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11774 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11775 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11776 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11779 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11782 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11783 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11784 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11785 mail belongs in that group.
11787 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11788 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11789 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11790 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11791 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11792 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11794 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11795 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11796 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11797 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11798 thinks should carry this mail message.
11800 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11801 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11802 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11803 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11805 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11806 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11807 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11808 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11809 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11811 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11814 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11815 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11816 links. If that's the case for you, set
11817 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11818 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11820 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11821 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11822 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11823 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11824 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11825 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11828 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11829 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11830 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11831 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11832 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11833 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11834 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11835 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11836 month's rent money.
11840 @subsection Mail Sources
11842 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11843 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11847 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11848 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11849 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11853 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11854 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11856 @cindex mail server
11859 @cindex mail source
11861 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11862 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11867 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11870 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11871 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11872 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11875 The following mail source types are available:
11879 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11885 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11886 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11889 An example file mail source:
11892 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11895 Or using the default path:
11901 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11902 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11903 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11906 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11910 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11913 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11917 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11920 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11922 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11925 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11929 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11930 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11931 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11932 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11933 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11939 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11943 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11947 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11948 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11949 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11950 predicate are considered.
11954 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11958 An example directory mail source:
11961 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11966 Get mail from a POP server.
11972 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11973 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11976 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11977 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11978 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11979 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11980 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11983 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11987 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11991 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11992 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11995 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11998 The valid format specifier characters are:
12002 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12003 included in this string.
12006 The name of the server.
12009 The port number of the server.
12012 The user name to use.
12015 The password to use.
12018 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12019 corresponding keywords.
12022 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12023 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12026 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12027 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12030 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12031 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12034 @item :authentication
12035 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12036 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12041 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12042 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12044 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12045 default user name, and default fetcher:
12051 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12054 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12055 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12058 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12061 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12065 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12066 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12067 contains exactly one mail.
12073 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12074 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12077 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12078 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12080 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12081 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12082 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12085 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12086 from locking problems).
12090 Two example maildir mail sources:
12093 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12094 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12098 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12103 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12104 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12105 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12106 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12113 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12114 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12117 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12118 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
12121 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12125 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12129 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12130 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12131 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12132 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12134 @item :authentication
12135 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12136 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12137 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12138 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12141 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12142 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12143 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12149 The valid format specifier characters are:
12153 The name of the server.
12156 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12159 The port number of the server.
12162 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12163 corresponding keywords.
12166 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12167 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12170 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12171 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12172 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12173 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12174 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12175 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12178 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12179 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12180 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12181 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12184 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12185 after finishing the fetch.
12189 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12192 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12194 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12198 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12199 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12201 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12204 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12205 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12207 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12213 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12214 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12217 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12221 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12225 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12226 folder after finishing the fetch.
12230 An example webmail source:
12233 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12235 :password "secret")
12240 @item Common Keywords
12241 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12247 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12248 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12252 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12257 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12258 useful when you use local mail and news.
12263 @subsubsection Function Interface
12265 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12266 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12267 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12268 consider the following mail-source setting:
12271 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12272 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12275 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12276 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12277 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12278 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12279 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12281 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12284 @node Mail Source Customization
12285 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12287 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12288 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12292 @item mail-source-crash-box
12293 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12294 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12295 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12297 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12298 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12299 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12301 @item mail-source-directory
12302 @vindex mail-source-directory
12303 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12304 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12305 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12308 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12309 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12310 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12311 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12312 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12313 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12315 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12316 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12317 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12319 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12320 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12321 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12322 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12327 @node Fetching Mail
12328 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12330 @vindex mail-sources
12331 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12332 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12333 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12334 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12336 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12337 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12340 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12341 mail server, you'd say something like:
12346 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12347 :password "secret")))
12350 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12354 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12355 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12358 :password "secret")))
12362 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12363 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12364 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12365 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12366 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12367 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12371 @node Mail Back End Variables
12372 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12374 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12378 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12379 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12380 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12381 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12383 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12384 @item nnmail-split-hook
12385 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12386 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12387 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12388 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12389 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12390 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12391 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12392 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12393 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12396 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12397 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12398 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12399 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12400 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12401 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12402 starting to handle the new mail) and
12403 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12404 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12405 default file modes the new mail files get:
12408 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12409 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12411 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12412 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12415 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12416 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12417 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12418 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12419 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12420 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12421 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12423 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12424 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12425 @findex delete-file
12426 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12428 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12429 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12430 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12431 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12432 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12437 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12438 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12439 @cindex mail splitting
12440 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12442 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12443 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12444 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12445 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12446 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12447 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12449 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12452 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12453 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12454 ;; from real errors.
12455 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12457 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12458 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12459 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12460 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12461 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12462 ;; Other mailing lists...
12463 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12464 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12465 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12466 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12467 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12468 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12469 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12470 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12472 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12473 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12477 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12478 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12479 the five possible split syntaxes:
12484 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12485 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12489 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12490 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12491 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12492 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12493 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12494 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12495 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12496 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12499 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12500 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12501 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12502 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12505 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12506 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12509 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12510 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12513 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12514 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12515 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12516 function should return a @var{split}.
12519 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12520 body of the messages:
12523 (defun split-on-body ()
12525 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12526 (goto-char (point-min))
12527 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12531 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12532 when the @code{:} function is run.
12535 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12536 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12537 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12541 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12545 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12546 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12547 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12548 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12549 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12551 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12552 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12553 are expanded as specified by the variable
12554 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12555 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12558 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12559 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12560 when all this splitting is performed.
12562 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12563 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12564 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12567 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12570 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12571 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12573 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12574 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12575 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12576 groupings 1 through 9.
12578 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12579 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12580 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12581 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12582 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12583 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12584 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12585 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12586 it once per thread.
12588 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12589 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12590 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12593 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12594 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12595 ;; other splits go here
12599 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12600 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12601 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12602 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12603 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12604 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12605 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12606 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12607 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12608 unless the group name matches the regexp
12609 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12610 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12611 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12612 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12613 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12614 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12615 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12616 messages goes into the new group.
12619 @node Group Mail Splitting
12620 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12621 @cindex mail splitting
12622 @cindex group mail splitting
12624 @findex gnus-group-split
12625 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12626 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12627 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12628 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12629 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12630 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12631 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12632 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12634 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12635 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12636 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12637 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12639 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12640 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12641 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12642 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12643 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12644 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12645 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12647 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12648 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12649 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12650 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12651 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12652 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12653 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12655 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12656 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12657 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12658 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12659 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12660 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12661 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12662 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12663 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12664 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12665 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12666 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12667 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12669 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12674 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12675 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12677 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12678 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12679 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12680 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12682 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12685 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12686 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12687 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12690 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12691 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12692 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12696 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12697 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12698 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12702 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12705 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12706 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12707 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12708 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12709 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12710 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12711 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12712 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12713 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12715 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12716 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12717 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12718 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12719 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12720 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12721 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12722 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12723 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12725 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12726 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12727 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12728 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12729 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12730 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12733 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12736 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12737 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12738 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12739 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12740 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12743 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12744 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12745 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12746 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12748 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12749 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12750 @cindex incorporating old mail
12751 @cindex import old mail
12753 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12754 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12755 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12758 Doing so can be quite easy.
12760 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12761 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12762 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12763 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12764 your @code{nnml} groups.
12770 Go to the group buffer.
12773 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12774 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12777 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12780 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12781 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12784 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12785 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12788 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12789 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12790 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12791 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12792 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12794 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12795 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12796 using the new mail back end.
12799 @node Expiring Mail
12800 @subsection Expiring Mail
12801 @cindex article expiry
12803 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12804 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12805 different approach to mail reading.
12807 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12808 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12809 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12810 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12811 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12812 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12815 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12816 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12817 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12818 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12819 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12820 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12821 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12822 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12824 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12825 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12826 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12827 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12828 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12829 column in the summary buffer.
12831 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12832 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12833 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12834 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12837 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12839 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12840 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12841 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12844 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12845 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12846 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12847 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12848 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12850 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12851 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12854 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12855 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12858 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12859 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12861 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12862 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12863 don't really mix very well.
12865 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12866 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12867 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12868 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12871 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12872 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12873 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12874 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12877 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12879 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12881 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12883 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12885 ((string= group "important")
12891 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12892 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12894 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12895 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12896 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12899 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12900 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12902 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12903 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12904 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12905 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12906 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12907 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12908 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12909 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12910 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12911 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12912 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12913 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12916 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12918 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12922 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12923 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12924 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12925 easier for procmail users.
12927 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12928 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12929 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12930 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12931 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12932 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12933 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12934 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12935 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12936 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12937 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12938 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12939 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12942 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12944 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12945 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12946 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12947 auto-expire turned on.
12951 @subsection Washing Mail
12952 @cindex mail washing
12953 @cindex list server brain damage
12954 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12956 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12957 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12958 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12959 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12960 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12961 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12963 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12964 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12965 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12968 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12969 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12970 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12971 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12974 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12975 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12976 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12977 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12978 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12981 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12982 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12983 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12984 Emacs running on MS machines.
12988 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12989 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12990 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12991 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12994 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12995 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12996 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12997 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12999 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13000 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13001 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13002 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13003 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13004 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13005 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13008 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13009 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13012 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13013 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13016 This can also be done non-destructively with
13017 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13019 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13020 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13021 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13023 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13024 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13026 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13027 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13028 @code{References} headers.
13032 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13033 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13034 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13038 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13039 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13040 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13047 @subsection Duplicates
13049 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13050 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13051 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13052 @cindex duplicate mails
13053 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13054 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13055 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13056 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13057 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13058 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13059 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13060 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13061 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13062 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13063 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13064 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13065 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13067 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13068 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13069 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13070 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13072 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13075 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13076 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13080 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13081 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13082 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13083 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13084 (any mail "mail.misc")
13091 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13092 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13097 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13098 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13099 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13100 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13101 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13104 @node Not Reading Mail
13105 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13107 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13108 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13109 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13111 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13112 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13113 mail, which should help.
13115 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13116 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13117 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13118 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13119 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13120 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13121 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13122 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13123 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13124 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13125 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13127 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13128 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13132 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13133 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13135 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13136 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13137 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13139 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13140 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13141 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13142 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13145 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13146 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13147 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13148 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13149 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13150 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13154 @node Unix Mail Box
13155 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13157 @cindex unix mail box
13159 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13160 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13161 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13162 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13163 which group it belongs in.
13165 Virtual server settings:
13168 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13169 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13170 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13173 @item nnmbox-active-file
13174 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13175 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13176 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13178 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13179 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13180 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13181 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13186 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13190 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13191 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13192 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13193 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13194 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13196 Virtual server settings:
13199 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13200 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13201 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13203 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13204 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13205 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13206 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13208 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13209 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13210 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13216 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13218 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13220 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13221 format. It should be used with some caution.
13223 @vindex nnml-directory
13224 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13225 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13226 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13227 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13229 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13232 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13233 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13234 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13235 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13236 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13237 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13238 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13239 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13241 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13242 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13243 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13244 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13246 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13247 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13248 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13249 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13250 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13251 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13252 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13253 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13254 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13257 Virtual server settings:
13260 @item nnml-directory
13261 @vindex nnml-directory
13262 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13263 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13266 @item nnml-active-file
13267 @vindex nnml-active-file
13268 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13269 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13271 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13272 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13273 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13274 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13276 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13277 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13278 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13281 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13282 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13283 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13284 default is @code{nil}.
13286 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13287 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13288 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13290 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13291 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13292 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13294 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13295 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13296 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13297 default is @code{nil}.
13299 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13300 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13301 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13305 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13306 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13307 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13308 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13309 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13310 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13311 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13316 @subsubsection MH Spool
13318 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13320 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13321 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13322 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13323 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13325 Virtual server settings:
13328 @item nnmh-directory
13329 @vindex nnmh-directory
13330 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13331 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13334 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13335 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13336 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13340 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13341 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13342 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13343 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13344 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13345 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13346 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13351 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13353 @cindex mbox folders
13354 @cindex mail folders
13356 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13357 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13358 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13361 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13362 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13363 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13364 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13365 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13366 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13367 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13368 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13369 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13370 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13371 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13373 Virtual server settings:
13376 @item nnfolder-directory
13377 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13378 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13379 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13382 @item nnfolder-active-file
13383 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13384 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13386 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13387 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13388 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13389 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13391 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13392 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13393 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13396 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13397 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13398 @cindex backup files
13399 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13400 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13401 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13402 your @file{.emacs} file:
13405 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13406 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13408 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13411 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13412 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13413 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13414 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13415 extract some information from it before removing it.
13417 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13418 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13419 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13420 default is @code{nil}.
13422 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13423 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13424 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13426 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13427 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13428 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13429 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13431 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13432 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13433 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13434 default is @code{nil}.
13436 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13437 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13438 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13440 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13441 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13442 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13443 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13448 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13449 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13450 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13451 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13452 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13453 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13456 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13457 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13459 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13460 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13461 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13462 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13463 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13465 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13466 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13467 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13468 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13469 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13470 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13471 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13472 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13475 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13476 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13477 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13478 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13483 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13484 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13485 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13486 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13487 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13488 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13489 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13490 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13491 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13492 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13493 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13494 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13495 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13500 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13501 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13502 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13503 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13504 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13505 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13506 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13507 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13508 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13509 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13510 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13511 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13512 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13513 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13515 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13516 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13521 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13522 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13523 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13524 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13525 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13526 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13527 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13528 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13529 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13530 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13531 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13532 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13533 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13534 provided by the active file and overviews.
13536 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13537 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13538 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13539 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13540 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13543 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13544 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13549 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13550 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13551 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13552 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13553 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13554 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13555 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13559 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13560 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13561 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13562 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13563 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13564 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13565 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13566 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13567 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13569 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13570 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13571 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13572 friendly mail back end all over.
13577 @node Browsing the Web
13578 @section Browsing the Web
13580 @cindex browsing the web
13584 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13585 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13586 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13587 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13588 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13589 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13590 even know what a news group is.
13592 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13593 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13594 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13595 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13596 you mad in the end.
13598 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13601 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13602 interfaces to these sources.
13605 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13606 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13607 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13608 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13609 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13610 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13613 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13615 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13616 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13617 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13618 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13619 though, you should be ok.
13621 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13622 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13623 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13624 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13625 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13627 @node Archiving Mail
13628 @subsection Archiving Mail
13629 @cindex archiving mail
13630 @cindex backup of mail
13632 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13633 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13634 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13636 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13637 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13640 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13641 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13642 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13643 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13644 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13645 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13646 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13649 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13650 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13651 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13652 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13653 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13654 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13655 notice the new directory.
13658 @subsection Web Searches
13662 @cindex InReference
13663 @cindex Usenet searches
13664 @cindex searching the Usenet
13666 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13667 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13668 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13669 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13670 searches without having to use a browser.
13672 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13673 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13674 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13675 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13676 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13678 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13679 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13680 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13681 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13682 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13683 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13684 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13685 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13686 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13687 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13690 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13691 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13692 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13693 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13694 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13695 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13697 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13698 to use @code{nnweb}.
13700 Virtual server variables:
13705 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13706 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13710 @vindex nnweb-search
13711 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13713 @item nnweb-max-hits
13714 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13715 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13718 @item nnweb-type-definition
13719 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13720 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13721 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13726 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13730 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13733 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13736 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13740 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13747 @subsection Slashdot
13751 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13752 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13753 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13755 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13756 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13759 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13760 '((nnslashdot "")))
13763 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13764 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13765 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13766 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13767 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13770 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13771 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13773 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13774 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13775 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13776 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13777 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13778 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13781 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13784 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13785 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13786 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13787 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13788 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13789 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13790 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13792 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13793 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13794 The login name to use when posting.
13796 @item nnslashdot-password
13797 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13798 The password to use when posting.
13800 @item nnslashdot-directory
13801 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13802 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13803 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13805 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13806 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13807 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13808 news articles and comments. The default is
13809 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13811 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13812 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13813 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13815 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13817 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13818 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13819 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13821 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13823 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13824 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13825 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13827 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13828 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13829 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13830 updated. The default is 0.
13837 @subsection Ultimate
13839 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13841 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13842 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13843 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13844 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13846 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13847 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13848 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13849 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13850 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13851 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13852 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13854 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13857 @item nnultimate-directory
13858 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13859 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13860 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13865 @subsection Web Archive
13867 @cindex Web Archive
13869 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13870 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13871 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13872 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13875 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13876 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13877 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13878 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13879 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13880 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13881 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13883 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13886 @item nnwarchive-directory
13887 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13888 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13889 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13891 @item nnwarchive-login
13892 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13893 The account name on the web server.
13895 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13896 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13897 The password for your account on the web server.
13905 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13906 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13907 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13910 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13911 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13914 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13917 @item nnrss-directory
13918 @vindex nnrss-directory
13919 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13920 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13924 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13925 the summary buffer.
13928 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13929 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13931 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13933 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13934 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13937 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13940 (require 'browse-url)
13942 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13944 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13947 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13948 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13950 (browse-url (cdr url))
13951 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13953 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13954 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13955 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13956 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13959 @node Customizing w3
13960 @subsection Customizing w3
13966 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13967 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13968 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13970 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13971 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13972 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13975 (eval-after-load "w3"
13977 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13978 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13979 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13980 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13982 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13985 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13986 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13994 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13995 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13996 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13997 specify the network address of the server.
13999 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14000 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14001 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14002 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
14003 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
14005 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
14006 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
14007 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
14008 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
14010 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14011 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
14012 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14013 usage explained in this section.
14015 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14016 might look something like this:
14019 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14020 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14021 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14023 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14024 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14025 ; a UW server running on localhost
14027 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14028 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14029 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14030 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14031 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14032 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14033 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14034 (nnimap-stream network))
14035 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14037 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14038 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14039 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14042 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14047 @item nnimap-address
14048 @vindex nnimap-address
14050 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14051 server name if not specified.
14053 @item nnimap-server-port
14054 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14055 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14057 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14060 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14061 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14064 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14065 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14066 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14067 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14068 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14069 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14070 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14072 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14073 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14074 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14077 Example server specification:
14080 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14081 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14082 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14085 @item nnimap-stream
14086 @vindex nnimap-stream
14087 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14088 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14089 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14090 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14092 Example server specification:
14095 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14096 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14099 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14103 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14104 @samp{imtest} program.
14106 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14108 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14109 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14112 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14113 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14115 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14117 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14120 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14121 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14122 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14123 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14124 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14125 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14126 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14127 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14128 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14131 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14132 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14133 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14134 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14135 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14136 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14137 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14140 @vindex imap-shell-program
14141 @vindex imap-shell-host
14142 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14143 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14145 @item nnimap-authenticator
14146 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14148 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14149 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14151 Example server specification:
14154 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14155 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14158 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14162 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14163 external program @code{imtest}.
14165 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14168 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14169 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14171 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14173 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14175 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14178 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14180 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14181 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14182 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14183 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14184 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14185 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14188 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14189 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14190 running in circles yet?
14192 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14193 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14196 The possible options are:
14201 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14204 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14205 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14206 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14207 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14209 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14214 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14215 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14217 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14218 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14219 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14220 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14221 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14223 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14224 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14227 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14228 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14229 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14230 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14233 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14234 as ticked for other users.
14236 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14238 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14240 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14241 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14242 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14243 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14245 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14246 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14247 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14248 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14250 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14251 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14253 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14254 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14255 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14261 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14262 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14263 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14268 @node Splitting in IMAP
14269 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14270 @cindex splitting imap mail
14272 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14273 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14274 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14275 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14276 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14280 Here are the variables of interest:
14284 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14285 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14287 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14289 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14290 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14292 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14294 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14295 @cindex splitting, inbox
14297 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14299 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14300 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14304 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14305 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14308 No nnmail equivalent.
14310 @item nnimap-split-rule
14311 @cindex Splitting, rules
14312 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14314 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14317 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14318 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14319 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14320 Neither did I, we need examples.
14323 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14325 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14326 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14327 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14330 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14331 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14332 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14334 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14335 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14339 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14342 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14343 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14344 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14345 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14347 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14348 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14349 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14350 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14351 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14352 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14354 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14355 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14356 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14358 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14359 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14360 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14362 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14364 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14365 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14366 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14369 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14370 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14371 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14372 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14373 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14374 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14377 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14378 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14379 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14380 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14381 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14382 group/function elements.
14384 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14386 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14388 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14390 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14391 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14393 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14394 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14395 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14398 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14399 @cindex splitting, fancy
14400 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14401 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14403 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14404 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14405 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14407 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14408 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14409 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14410 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14415 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14416 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14419 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14423 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14424 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14425 @cindex editing imap acls
14426 @cindex Access Control Lists
14427 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14429 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14431 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14432 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14433 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14436 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14437 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14438 editing window with detailed instructions.
14440 Some possible uses:
14444 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14445 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14446 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14448 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14449 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14450 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14454 @node Expunging mailboxes
14455 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14459 @cindex Manual expunging
14461 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14463 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14464 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14465 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14467 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14472 @node Other Sources
14473 @section Other Sources
14475 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14476 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14480 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14481 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14482 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14483 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14484 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14488 @node Directory Groups
14489 @subsection Directory Groups
14491 @cindex directory groups
14493 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14494 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14497 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14498 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14499 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14500 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14502 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14503 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14504 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14505 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14506 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14508 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14510 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14511 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14512 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14513 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14516 @node Anything Groups
14517 @subsection Anything Groups
14520 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14521 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14522 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14525 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14526 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14527 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14528 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14529 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14530 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14531 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14532 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14533 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14534 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14537 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14538 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14539 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14540 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14542 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14543 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14544 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14545 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14547 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14548 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14549 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14550 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14551 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14552 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14553 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14554 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14559 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14560 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14561 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14562 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14564 @item nneething-exclude-files
14565 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14566 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14567 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14569 @item nneething-include-files
14570 @vindex nneething-include-files
14571 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14572 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14574 @item nneething-map-file
14575 @vindex nneething-map-file
14576 Name of the map files.
14580 @node Document Groups
14581 @subsection Document Groups
14583 @cindex documentation group
14586 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14587 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14594 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14599 The standard Unix mbox file.
14601 @cindex MMDF mail box
14603 The MMDF mail box format.
14606 Several news articles appended into a file.
14609 @cindex rnews batch files
14610 The rnews batch transport format.
14611 @cindex forwarded messages
14614 Forwarded articles.
14617 Netscape mail boxes.
14620 MIME multipart messages.
14622 @item standard-digest
14623 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14626 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14629 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14630 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14631 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14634 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14635 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14636 group. And that's it.
14638 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14639 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14640 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14641 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14642 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14643 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14644 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14645 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14646 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14647 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14649 Virtual server variables:
14652 @item nndoc-article-type
14653 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14654 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14655 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14656 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14657 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
14658 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
14660 @item nndoc-post-type
14661 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14662 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14663 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14668 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14672 @node Document Server Internals
14673 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14675 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14676 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14677 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14678 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14680 First, here's an example document type definition:
14684 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14685 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14688 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14689 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14690 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14691 types can be defined with very few settings:
14694 @item first-article
14695 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14696 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14699 @item article-begin
14700 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14701 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14703 @item head-begin-function
14704 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14707 @item nndoc-head-begin
14708 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14711 @item nndoc-head-end
14712 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14713 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14715 @item body-begin-function
14716 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14720 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14723 @item body-end-function
14724 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14728 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14731 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14732 regexp will be totally ignored.
14736 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14737 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14738 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14739 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14740 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14743 @item prepare-body-function
14744 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14745 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14746 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14748 @item article-transform-function
14749 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14750 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14751 body of the article.
14753 @item generate-head-function
14754 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14755 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14756 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14757 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14761 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14766 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14767 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14768 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14769 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14770 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14771 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14772 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14773 (subtype digest guess))
14776 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14777 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14778 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14779 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14780 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14782 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14783 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14784 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14785 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14786 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
14787 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14788 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14789 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14790 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14791 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14799 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14800 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14801 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14803 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14804 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14805 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14808 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14809 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14810 that interested in doing things properly.
14812 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14813 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14816 First some terminology:
14821 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14822 get news and/or mail from.
14825 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14826 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14829 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14833 @item message packets
14834 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14835 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14836 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14838 @item response packets
14839 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14840 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14841 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14851 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14852 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14853 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14854 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14857 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14860 You put the packet in your home directory.
14863 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
14864 the native or secondary server.
14867 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14868 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14871 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14875 You transfer this packet to the server.
14878 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14881 You then repeat until you die.
14885 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14886 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14889 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14890 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14891 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14895 @node SOUP Commands
14896 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14898 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14902 @kindex G s b (Group)
14903 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14904 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14905 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14906 process/prefix convention.
14909 @kindex G s w (Group)
14910 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14911 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14914 @kindex G s s (Group)
14915 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14916 Send all replies from the replies packet
14917 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14920 @kindex G s p (Group)
14921 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14922 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14925 @kindex G s r (Group)
14926 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14927 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14930 @kindex O s (Summary)
14931 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14932 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14933 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14934 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14939 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14944 @item gnus-soup-directory
14945 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14946 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14947 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14949 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14950 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14951 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14952 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14954 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14955 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14956 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14957 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14959 @item gnus-soup-packer
14960 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14961 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14962 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14964 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14965 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14966 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14967 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14969 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14970 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14971 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14973 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14974 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14975 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14976 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14982 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14985 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14986 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14987 you can read them at leisure.
14989 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14993 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14994 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14995 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14996 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14998 @item nnsoup-directory
14999 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15000 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15001 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15003 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15004 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15005 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15006 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15008 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15009 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15010 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15011 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15012 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15014 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15015 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15016 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15017 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15019 @item nnsoup-active-file
15020 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15021 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15022 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15023 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15024 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15026 @item nnsoup-packer
15027 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15028 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15029 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15031 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15032 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15033 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15034 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15036 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15037 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15038 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15041 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15042 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15043 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15046 @item nnsoup-always-save
15047 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15048 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15054 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15056 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15057 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15058 more for that to happen.
15060 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15061 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15062 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15065 In specific, this is what it does:
15068 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15069 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15072 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15073 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15074 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15077 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15078 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15079 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15082 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15083 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15084 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15086 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15092 @item nngateway-address
15093 @vindex nngateway-address
15094 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15096 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15097 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15098 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15099 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15100 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15101 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15102 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15105 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15106 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15107 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15110 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15113 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15116 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15119 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15121 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15124 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15125 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15126 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15128 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15130 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15131 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15132 @code{nngateway-address}.
15137 (setq gnus-post-method
15139 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15140 (nngateway-header-transformation
15141 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15149 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15152 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15157 @node Combined Groups
15158 @section Combined Groups
15160 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15164 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15165 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15169 @node Virtual Groups
15170 @subsection Virtual Groups
15172 @cindex virtual groups
15173 @cindex merging groups
15175 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15178 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15179 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15180 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15182 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15183 regexp to match component groups.
15185 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15186 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15187 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15188 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15189 the virtual group.)
15191 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15192 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15195 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15198 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15199 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15201 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15202 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15203 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15204 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15207 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15210 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15211 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15212 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15214 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15215 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15216 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15217 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15218 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15220 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15221 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15222 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15224 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15225 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15226 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15227 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15228 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15229 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15230 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15231 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15232 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15233 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15234 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15236 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15237 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15238 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15239 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15240 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15241 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15242 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15244 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15245 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15249 @node Kibozed Groups
15250 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15254 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15255 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15256 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15257 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15259 @kindex G k (Group)
15260 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15263 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15264 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15265 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15266 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15268 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15269 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15270 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15272 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15273 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15274 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15275 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15276 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15277 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15278 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15279 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15281 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15282 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15283 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15284 Stranger things have happened.
15286 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15287 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15289 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15290 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15291 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15292 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15293 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15294 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15296 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15297 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15300 @node Gnus Unplugged
15301 @section Gnus Unplugged
15306 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15308 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15309 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15310 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15311 read news. Believe it or not.
15313 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15314 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15315 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15316 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15317 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15319 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15320 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15321 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15322 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15323 reading news on a machine.
15325 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15329 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15330 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15334 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15335 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15342 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15344 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15347 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15348 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15349 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15350 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15351 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15352 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15353 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15354 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15355 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15356 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15361 @subsection Agent Basics
15363 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15365 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15366 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15367 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15368 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15370 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15371 connected to the net continuously.
15373 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15374 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15376 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15381 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15382 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15383 already fetched while in this mode.
15386 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15387 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15388 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15389 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15390 Source Specifiers}).
15393 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15394 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15395 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15396 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15397 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15400 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15401 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15402 then you read the news offline.
15405 And then you go to step 2.
15408 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15414 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15415 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15416 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15417 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15418 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15419 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15422 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15429 @node Agent Categories
15430 @subsection Agent Categories
15432 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15433 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15434 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15435 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15436 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15437 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15438 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15440 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15441 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15442 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15443 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15444 managing categories.
15447 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15448 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15449 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15453 @node Category Syntax
15454 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15456 A category consists of two things.
15460 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15461 are eligible for downloading; and
15464 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15465 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15466 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15469 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15470 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15471 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15472 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15474 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15475 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15476 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15478 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15479 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15480 operators sprinkled in between.
15482 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15484 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15485 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15491 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15492 short (for some value of ``short'').
15494 Here's a more complex predicate:
15503 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15504 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15507 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15508 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15509 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15511 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15512 you want to do, you can write your own.
15516 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15517 lines; default 100.
15520 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15521 lines; default 200.
15524 True iff the article has a download score less than
15525 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15528 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15529 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15532 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15533 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15534 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15543 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15544 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15545 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15548 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15549 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15550 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15551 something along the lines of the following:
15554 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15555 "Say whether an article is old."
15556 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15557 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15560 with the predicate then defined as:
15563 (not my-article-old-p)
15566 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15567 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15568 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15569 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15572 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15573 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15574 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15577 and simply specify your predicate as:
15583 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15584 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15585 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15586 just don't give a damn.
15588 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15589 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15590 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15591 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15592 parameters like so:
15595 (agent-predicate . short)
15598 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15599 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15600 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15602 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15605 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15608 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15609 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15610 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15613 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15614 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15615 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15616 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15617 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15618 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15620 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15621 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15622 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15623 if it's to be specific to that group.
15625 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15632 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15633 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15639 Category specification
15643 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15649 Group Parameter specification
15652 (agent-score ("from"
15653 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15658 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15664 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15671 Category specification
15674 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15680 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15684 Group Parameter specification
15687 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15690 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15695 Use @code{normal} score files
15697 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15698 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15699 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15700 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15702 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15703 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15704 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15705 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15709 Category Specification
15716 Group Parameter specification
15719 (agent-score . file)
15724 @node Category Buffer
15725 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15727 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15728 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15729 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15731 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15735 @kindex q (Category)
15736 @findex gnus-category-exit
15737 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15740 @kindex k (Category)
15741 @findex gnus-category-kill
15742 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15745 @kindex c (Category)
15746 @findex gnus-category-copy
15747 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15750 @kindex a (Category)
15751 @findex gnus-category-add
15752 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15755 @kindex p (Category)
15756 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15757 Edit the predicate of the current category
15758 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15761 @kindex g (Category)
15762 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15763 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15764 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15767 @kindex s (Category)
15768 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15769 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15770 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15773 @kindex l (Category)
15774 @findex gnus-category-list
15775 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15779 @node Category Variables
15780 @subsubsection Category Variables
15783 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15784 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15785 Hook run in category buffers.
15787 @item gnus-category-line-format
15788 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15789 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15790 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15794 The name of the category.
15797 The number of groups in the category.
15800 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15801 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15802 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15804 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15805 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15806 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15808 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15809 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15810 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15812 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15813 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15814 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15817 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15818 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15819 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15825 @node Agent Commands
15826 @subsection Agent Commands
15828 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15829 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15830 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15834 * Group Agent Commands::
15835 * Summary Agent Commands::
15836 * Server Agent Commands::
15839 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15840 following incantation:
15842 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15844 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15849 @node Group Agent Commands
15850 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15854 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15855 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15856 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15857 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15860 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15861 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15862 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15865 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15866 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15867 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15868 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15871 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15872 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15873 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15874 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15877 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15878 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15879 Add the current group to an Agent category
15880 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15881 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15884 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15885 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15886 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15887 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15888 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15891 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15892 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15893 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15899 @node Summary Agent Commands
15900 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15904 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15905 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15906 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15909 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15910 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15911 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15912 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15915 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15916 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15917 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15920 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15921 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15922 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15925 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15926 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15927 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15928 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15933 @node Server Agent Commands
15934 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15938 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15939 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15940 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15941 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15944 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15945 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15946 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15947 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15953 @subsection Agent Expiry
15955 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15956 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15957 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15958 @cindex Agent expiry
15959 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15962 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15963 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15964 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15965 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15966 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15967 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15969 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15970 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15971 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15972 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15973 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15976 @node Agent and IMAP
15977 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15979 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
15980 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15981 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15982 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15984 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15985 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15986 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15987 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15989 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15990 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15991 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15992 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15993 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15995 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15996 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15997 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15998 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15999 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
16000 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16002 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
16003 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
16004 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16005 in the group buffer by default.
16007 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16008 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16013 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16016 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16020 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16021 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16022 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16023 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16024 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16025 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16026 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16027 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16030 @node Outgoing Messages
16031 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16033 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16034 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16035 after posting, and edit them at will.
16037 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16038 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16039 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16040 messages in the draft group.
16044 @node Agent Variables
16045 @subsection Agent Variables
16048 @item gnus-agent-directory
16049 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16050 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16051 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16053 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16054 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16055 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16056 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16057 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16060 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16061 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16062 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16064 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16065 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16066 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16071 @node Example Setup
16072 @subsection Example Setup
16074 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16075 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16076 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16079 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16080 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16081 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16083 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16084 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16085 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16087 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16088 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16090 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16094 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16095 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16098 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16099 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16100 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16101 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16102 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16105 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16106 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16107 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16108 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16109 back all the killed groups.)
16111 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16112 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16113 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16116 @node Batching Agents
16117 @subsection Batching Agents
16119 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16120 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16121 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16125 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16129 @node Agent Caveats
16130 @subsection Agent Caveats
16132 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16133 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16137 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16142 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16143 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16149 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16150 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16157 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16158 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16159 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16162 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16163 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16164 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16165 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16166 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16168 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16169 before generating the summary buffer.
16171 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16172 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16173 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16175 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16176 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16177 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16178 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16181 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16182 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16183 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16184 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16185 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16186 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16187 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16188 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16189 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16190 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16191 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16192 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16193 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16194 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16195 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16196 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16197 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16201 @node Summary Score Commands
16202 @section Summary Score Commands
16203 @cindex score commands
16205 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16206 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16207 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16208 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16209 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16211 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16212 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16213 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16214 score file the current one.
16216 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16221 @kindex V s (Summary)
16222 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16223 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16226 @kindex V S (Summary)
16227 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16228 Display the score of the current article
16229 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16232 @kindex V t (Summary)
16233 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16234 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16235 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16238 @kindex V R (Summary)
16239 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16240 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16241 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16242 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16243 effect you're having.
16246 @kindex V c (Summary)
16247 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16248 Make a different score file the current
16249 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16252 @kindex V e (Summary)
16253 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16254 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16255 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16259 @kindex V f (Summary)
16260 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16261 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16262 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16265 @kindex V F (Summary)
16266 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16267 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16268 after editing score files.
16271 @kindex V C (Summary)
16272 @findex gnus-score-customize
16273 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16274 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16278 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16283 @kindex V m (Summary)
16284 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16285 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16286 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16289 @kindex V x (Summary)
16290 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16291 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16292 expunge all articles below this score
16293 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16296 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16297 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16300 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16301 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16305 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16306 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16308 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16309 keys are available:
16313 Score on the author name.
16316 Score on the subject line.
16319 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16322 Score on the @code{References} line.
16328 Score on the number of lines.
16331 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16334 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16335 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16336 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16345 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16351 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16352 what headers you are scoring on.
16364 Substring matching.
16367 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16396 Greater than number.
16401 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16402 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16403 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16407 Temporary score entry.
16410 Permanent score entry.
16413 Immediately scoring.
16418 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16419 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16420 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16421 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16423 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16424 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16425 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16426 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16427 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16429 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16430 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16431 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16432 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16433 current score file.
16435 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16436 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16437 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16440 @node Group Score Commands
16441 @section Group Score Commands
16442 @cindex group score commands
16444 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16449 @kindex W f (Group)
16450 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16451 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16452 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16453 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16457 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16459 @findex gnus-batch-score
16460 @cindex batch scoring
16462 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16466 @node Score Variables
16467 @section Score Variables
16468 @cindex score variables
16472 @item gnus-use-scoring
16473 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16474 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16475 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16477 @item gnus-kill-killed
16478 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16479 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16480 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16481 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16482 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16483 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16484 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16486 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16487 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16488 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16489 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16490 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16492 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16493 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16494 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16495 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16497 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16498 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16499 @cindex score cache
16500 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16501 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16502 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
16503 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16504 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16505 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16508 @item gnus-save-score
16509 @vindex gnus-save-score
16510 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16511 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16512 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16514 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16515 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16516 across group visits.
16518 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16519 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16520 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16521 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16522 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16523 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16524 manually entered data.
16526 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16527 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16528 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16530 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16531 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16532 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16533 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16534 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16535 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16537 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16538 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16539 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16540 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16542 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16543 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16544 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16545 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16547 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16548 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16549 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16550 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16552 Predefined functions available are:
16555 @item gnus-score-find-single
16556 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16557 Only apply the group's own score file.
16559 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16560 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16561 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16562 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16563 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16564 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16565 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16566 then a regexp match is done.
16568 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16569 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16571 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16572 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16573 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16574 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16576 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16577 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16578 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16579 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16580 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16584 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16585 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16586 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16587 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16588 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16589 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16590 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16593 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16594 overall score file, you could use the value
16596 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16597 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16600 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16601 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16602 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16603 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16604 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16606 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16607 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16608 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16609 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16610 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16611 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16612 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16615 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16616 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16617 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16619 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16620 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16621 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16622 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16623 threading---according to the current value of
16624 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16625 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16626 simplified in this manner.
16631 @node Score File Format
16632 @section Score File Format
16633 @cindex score file format
16635 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16636 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16637 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16639 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16643 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16645 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16647 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16649 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16654 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16658 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16659 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16660 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16661 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16665 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16666 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16668 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16669 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16670 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16672 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16677 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16678 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16679 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16680 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16681 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16682 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16683 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16684 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16685 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16686 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16687 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16688 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16689 to articles that matches these score entries.
16691 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16692 score entry has one to four elements.
16696 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16697 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16701 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16702 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16703 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16704 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16705 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16706 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16709 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16710 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16711 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16712 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16713 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16716 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16717 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16718 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16719 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16722 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16723 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16724 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16725 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16726 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16727 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16728 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16729 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16730 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16731 instead, if you feel like.
16734 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16735 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16737 These predicates are true if
16740 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16743 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16744 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16751 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16752 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16753 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16754 it's not. I think.)
16756 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16757 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16758 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16759 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16762 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16763 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16764 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16765 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16766 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16767 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16768 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16772 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16773 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16774 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16775 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16776 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16777 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16778 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16779 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16782 @item Head, Body, All
16783 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16787 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16788 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16789 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16790 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16791 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16792 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16793 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16797 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16798 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16799 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16800 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16801 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16802 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16803 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16804 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16805 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16806 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16807 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16811 @cindex Score File Atoms
16813 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16814 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16817 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16818 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16820 @item mark-and-expunge
16821 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16822 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16825 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16826 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16827 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16828 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16829 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16832 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16833 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16836 @item exclude-files
16837 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16838 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16842 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16843 ignored when handling global score files.
16846 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16847 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16848 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16849 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16852 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16853 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16854 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16855 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16857 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16861 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16864 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16865 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16866 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16867 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16868 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16870 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16871 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16872 scoring rules exist.
16875 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16876 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16877 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16878 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16879 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16880 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16881 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16882 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16883 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16884 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16885 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16889 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16890 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16891 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16892 file for a number of groups.
16895 @cindex local variables
16896 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16897 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16898 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16899 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16900 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16904 @node Score File Editing
16905 @section Score File Editing
16907 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16908 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16909 with a mode for that.
16911 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16912 additional commands:
16917 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16918 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16919 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16920 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16923 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16924 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16925 Insert the current date in numerical format
16926 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16927 you were wondering.
16930 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16931 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16932 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16933 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16934 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16939 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16941 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16942 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16944 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16945 e} to begin editing score files.
16948 @node Adaptive Scoring
16949 @section Adaptive Scoring
16950 @cindex adaptive scoring
16952 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16953 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16954 stupidity, to be precise.
16956 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16957 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16958 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16959 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16960 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16961 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16962 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16963 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16964 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16966 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16967 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16968 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16969 might look something like this:
16972 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16973 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16974 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16975 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16976 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16977 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16978 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16979 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16980 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16981 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16982 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16983 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16986 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16987 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16988 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16989 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16990 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16991 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16994 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16995 will be applied to each article.
16997 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16998 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16999 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17000 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17002 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17003 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17004 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17005 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17007 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17008 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17009 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17010 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17012 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17013 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17014 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17015 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17016 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17017 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17019 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17020 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17021 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17022 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17023 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17024 aspirins afterwards.)
17026 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17027 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17028 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17030 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17031 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17032 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17034 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17035 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17036 let you use different rules in different groups.
17038 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17039 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17040 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17043 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17044 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17045 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17046 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17047 the length of the match is less than
17048 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17049 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17052 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17053 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17054 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17055 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17056 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17059 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17060 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17061 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17062 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17063 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17066 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17067 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17068 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17069 score with 30 points.
17071 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17072 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17073 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17074 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17075 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17077 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17078 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17079 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17080 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17081 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17083 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17084 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17085 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17086 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17088 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17089 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17090 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17091 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17093 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17094 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17095 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17096 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17097 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17099 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17100 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17101 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17103 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17104 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17105 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17106 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17109 @node Home Score File
17110 @section Home Score File
17112 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17113 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17114 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17115 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17117 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17118 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17119 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17121 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17122 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17127 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17131 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17132 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17136 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17140 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17141 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17144 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17145 the home score file.
17148 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17151 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17156 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17159 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17160 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17163 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17164 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17166 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17168 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17169 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17172 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17173 Other functions include
17176 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17177 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17178 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17179 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17183 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17184 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17185 their own home score files:
17188 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17189 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17190 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17191 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17192 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17195 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17196 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17197 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17198 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17199 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17201 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17202 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17203 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17204 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17205 precedence over this variable.
17208 @node Followups To Yourself
17209 @section Followups To Yourself
17211 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17212 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17213 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17214 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17215 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17216 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17220 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17221 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17222 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17225 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17226 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17227 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17231 @vindex message-sent-hook
17232 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17233 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17235 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17239 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17240 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17244 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17245 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17248 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17249 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17254 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17258 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17259 is system-dependent.
17262 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17263 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17264 @cindex scoring on other headers
17266 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17267 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17268 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17269 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17270 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17272 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17273 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17274 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17275 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17276 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17278 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17281 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17282 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17285 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17286 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17287 time if you have much mail.
17289 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17290 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17296 @section Scoring Tips
17297 @cindex scoring tips
17303 @cindex scoring crossposts
17304 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17305 the @code{Xref} header.
17307 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17310 @item Multiple crossposts
17311 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17312 more than, say, 3 groups:
17315 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17319 @item Matching on the body
17320 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17321 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17322 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17323 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17324 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17325 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17326 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17329 @item Marking as read
17330 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17331 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17332 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17336 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17338 @item Negated character classes
17339 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17340 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17341 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17345 @node Reverse Scoring
17346 @section Reverse Scoring
17347 @cindex reverse scoring
17349 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17350 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17351 like this in your score file:
17355 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17360 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17361 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17364 @node Global Score Files
17365 @section Global Score Files
17366 @cindex global score files
17368 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17369 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17370 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17372 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17373 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17374 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17376 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17377 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17378 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17379 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17380 files are applicable to which group.
17382 To use the score file
17383 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17384 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17388 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17389 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17390 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17393 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17395 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17396 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17397 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17398 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17400 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17401 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17403 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17404 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17405 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17406 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17407 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17408 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17410 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17416 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17418 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17420 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17422 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17423 lowered out of existence.
17425 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17426 articles completely.
17429 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17430 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17431 old articles for a long time.
17434 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17435 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17436 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17437 holding our breath yet?
17441 @section Kill Files
17444 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17445 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17446 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17448 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17449 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17450 files into score files.
17452 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17453 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17454 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17455 that isn't a very good idea.
17457 Normal kill files look like this:
17460 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17461 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17465 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17466 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17468 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17469 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17472 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17477 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17478 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17479 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17482 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17483 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17484 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17487 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17492 @kindex M-k (Group)
17493 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17494 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17497 @kindex M-K (Group)
17498 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17499 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17502 Kill file variables:
17505 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17506 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17507 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17508 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17509 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17510 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17511 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17513 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17514 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17515 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17516 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17519 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17520 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17521 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17522 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17523 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17524 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17525 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17526 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17527 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17529 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17530 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17531 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17536 @node Converting Kill Files
17537 @section Converting Kill Files
17539 @cindex converting kill files
17541 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17542 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17543 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17546 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17547 You can fetch it from
17548 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17550 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17551 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17552 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17560 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17561 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17562 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17563 news articles generated every day.
17565 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17566 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17567 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17568 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17569 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17570 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17571 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17572 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17575 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17576 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17579 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17580 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17581 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17582 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17586 @node Using GroupLens
17587 @subsection Using GroupLens
17589 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17591 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17592 better bit in town at the moment.
17594 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17598 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17599 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17600 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17601 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17603 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17604 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17605 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17606 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17608 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17609 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17610 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17614 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17615 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17616 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17617 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17618 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17619 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17622 @node Rating Articles
17623 @subsection Rating Articles
17625 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17626 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17627 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17628 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17631 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17636 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17637 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17638 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17641 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17642 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17643 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17644 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17645 threads in rec.humor.
17649 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17650 the score of the article you're reading.
17655 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17656 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17657 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17660 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17661 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17662 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17666 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17667 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17670 @node Displaying Predictions
17671 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17673 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17674 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17675 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17676 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17677 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17679 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17680 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17681 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17682 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17683 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17684 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17685 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17686 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17687 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17688 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17689 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17690 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17691 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17693 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17694 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17695 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17696 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17698 The following are valid values for that variable.
17701 @item prediction-spot
17702 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17705 @item confidence-interval
17706 A numeric confidence interval.
17708 @item prediction-bar
17709 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17711 @item confidence-bar
17712 Numerical confidence.
17714 @item confidence-spot
17715 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17717 @item prediction-num
17718 Plain-old numeric value.
17720 @item confidence-plus-minus
17721 Prediction +/- confidence.
17726 @node GroupLens Variables
17727 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17731 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17732 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17733 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17734 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17737 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17738 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17741 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17742 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17744 @item grouplens-score-offset
17745 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17746 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17749 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17750 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17751 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17756 @node Advanced Scoring
17757 @section Advanced Scoring
17759 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17760 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17761 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17762 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17763 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17765 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17769 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17770 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17771 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17775 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17776 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17778 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17779 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17780 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17781 non-@code{nil} value.
17783 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17784 operator, and various match operators.
17791 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17792 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17793 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17798 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17799 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17800 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17805 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17806 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17810 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17811 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17812 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17813 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17814 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17815 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17816 the ancestry you want to go.
17818 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17819 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17820 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17821 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17822 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17825 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17826 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17828 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17829 when he's talking about Gnus:
17833 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17834 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17840 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17844 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17851 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17852 really don't want to read what he's written:
17856 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17857 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17861 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17862 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17863 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17870 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17871 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17872 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17873 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17877 The possibilities are endless.
17880 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17881 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17883 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17884 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17885 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17886 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17887 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17888 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17889 @samp{subject}) first.
17891 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17892 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17903 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17904 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17910 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17917 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17918 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17923 @section Score Decays
17924 @cindex score decays
17927 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17928 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17929 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17930 use them in any sensible way.
17932 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17933 @findex gnus-decay-score
17934 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17935 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17936 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17937 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17938 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17939 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17940 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17941 definition of that function:
17944 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17946 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17947 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17950 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17952 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17954 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17957 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17958 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17959 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17960 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17964 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17967 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17970 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17974 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17975 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17976 the new score, which should be an integer.
17978 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17979 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17984 @include message.texi
17985 @chapter Emacs MIME
17986 @include emacs-mime.texi
17994 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17995 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17996 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17997 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17998 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17999 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18000 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18001 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18002 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18003 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18004 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18005 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18006 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18007 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18008 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
18009 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18010 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18011 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18015 @node Process/Prefix
18016 @section Process/Prefix
18017 @cindex process/prefix convention
18019 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18020 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18022 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18023 command to be performed on.
18027 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18028 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18029 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18030 with the current one.
18032 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18033 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18034 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18036 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18037 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18040 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18041 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18043 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18046 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18047 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18048 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18049 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18051 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18052 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18053 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18054 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18055 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18056 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18057 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18058 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18060 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18061 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18062 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18063 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18064 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18068 @section Interactive
18069 @cindex interaction
18073 @item gnus-novice-user
18074 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18075 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18076 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18077 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18078 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18081 @item gnus-expert-user
18082 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18083 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18084 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18085 matter how strange.
18087 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18088 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18089 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18090 is @code{t} by default.
18092 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18093 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18094 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18099 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18100 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18101 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18103 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18104 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18105 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18106 rule of 900 to the current article.
18108 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18109 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18110 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18111 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18112 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18113 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18114 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18116 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18117 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18118 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18119 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18120 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18121 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
18122 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
18123 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18124 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18126 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18127 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18128 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18130 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18134 @node Formatting Variables
18135 @section Formatting Variables
18136 @cindex formatting variables
18138 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18139 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18140 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18141 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18142 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18145 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18146 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18147 lots of percentages everywhere.
18150 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18151 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18152 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18153 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18154 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18155 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18156 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18157 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18160 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18161 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18162 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18163 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18164 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18165 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18166 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18167 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18169 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18170 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18172 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18173 @findex gnus-update-format
18174 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18175 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18176 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18177 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18181 @node Formatting Basics
18182 @subsection Formatting Basics
18184 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18185 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18186 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18188 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18189 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18190 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18191 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18192 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18195 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18196 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18197 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18198 less than 4 characters wide.
18201 @node Mode Line Formatting
18202 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18204 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18205 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18206 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18207 with the following two differences:
18212 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18215 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18216 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18217 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18218 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18219 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18220 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18221 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18226 @node Advanced Formatting
18227 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18229 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18230 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18231 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18232 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18234 These are the valid modifiers:
18239 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18243 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18248 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18251 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18256 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18259 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18262 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18265 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18269 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18270 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18271 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18272 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18273 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18274 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18275 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18277 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18278 last operation, padding.
18280 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18281 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18282 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18283 @xref{Compilation}.
18286 @node User-Defined Specs
18287 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18289 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18290 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18291 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18292 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18293 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18294 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18295 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18296 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18297 should protect against that.
18299 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18300 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18301 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18302 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18306 @node Formatting Fonts
18307 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18309 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18310 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18311 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18312 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18315 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18316 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18317 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18318 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18319 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18320 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18322 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18323 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18324 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18325 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18326 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18327 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18328 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18329 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18331 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18334 ;; Create three face types.
18335 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18336 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18338 ;; We want the article count to be in
18339 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18340 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18341 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18343 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18344 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18346 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18347 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18348 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18351 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18352 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18354 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18355 mode-line variables.
18357 @node Positioning Point
18358 @subsection Positioning Point
18360 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18361 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18362 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18364 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18366 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18367 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18368 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18370 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18371 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18372 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18377 @subsection Tabulation
18379 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18380 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18381 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18382 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18384 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18385 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18387 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18388 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18389 This is the soft tabulator.
18391 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18392 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18393 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18396 @node Wide Characters
18397 @subsection Wide Characters
18399 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18400 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18401 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18403 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18404 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18405 these coutries, that's not true.
18407 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18408 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18409 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18410 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18414 @node Window Layout
18415 @section Window Layout
18416 @cindex window layout
18418 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18420 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18421 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18422 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18423 @code{t} by default.
18425 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18426 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18428 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18429 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18430 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18433 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18434 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18435 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18439 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18440 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18441 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18442 possible names is listed below.
18444 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18445 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18448 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18452 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18453 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18454 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18455 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18456 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18457 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18458 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18459 size spec per split.
18461 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18462 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18463 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18464 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18465 present) gets focus.
18467 Here's a more complicated example:
18470 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18471 (summary 0.25 point)
18472 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18476 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18477 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18478 occupy, not a percentage.
18480 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18481 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18482 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18483 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18484 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18487 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18490 (article (horizontal 1.0
18495 (summary 0.25 point)
18500 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18501 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18503 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18504 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18505 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18506 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18507 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18509 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18510 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18511 lines from the splits.
18513 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18517 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18518 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18519 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18520 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18521 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18522 size = number | frame-params
18523 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18526 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18527 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18528 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18529 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18531 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18532 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18533 @cindex window height
18534 @cindex window width
18535 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18536 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18537 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18538 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18539 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18540 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18542 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18543 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18544 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18545 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18547 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18548 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18549 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18550 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18551 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18552 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18553 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18554 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18555 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18556 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18557 configuration list.
18560 (gnus-configure-frame
18564 (article 0.3 point))
18572 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18573 @code{frame} split:
18576 (gnus-configure-frame
18579 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18581 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18582 (user-position . t)
18583 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18588 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18589 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18590 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18591 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18592 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18593 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18594 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18595 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18597 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18598 be found in its default value.
18600 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18601 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18602 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18606 (message (horizontal 1.0
18607 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18609 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18614 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18615 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18616 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18621 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18622 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18623 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18624 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18625 (name . "Message"))
18626 (message 1.0 point))))
18629 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18630 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18631 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18632 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18633 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18636 (gnus-add-configuration
18637 '(article (vertical 1.0
18639 (summary .25 point)
18643 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18644 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18645 Gnus has been loaded.
18647 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18648 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18649 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18650 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18651 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18653 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18654 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18655 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18658 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18662 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18663 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18678 (gnus-add-configuration
18681 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18683 (summary 0.16 point)
18686 (gnus-add-configuration
18689 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18690 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18696 @node Faces and Fonts
18697 @section Faces and Fonts
18702 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18703 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18704 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18709 @section Compilation
18710 @cindex compilation
18711 @cindex byte-compilation
18713 @findex gnus-compile
18715 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18716 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18717 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18718 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18719 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18720 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18723 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18724 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18725 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18726 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18727 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18728 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18729 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18733 @section Mode Lines
18736 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18737 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18738 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18739 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18740 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18741 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18742 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18745 @cindex display-time
18747 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18748 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18749 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18750 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18751 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18752 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18753 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18754 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18757 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18759 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18760 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18762 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18763 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18764 (length display-time-string)))))
18767 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18768 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18769 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18770 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18771 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18774 @node Highlighting and Menus
18775 @section Highlighting and Menus
18777 @cindex highlighting
18780 @vindex gnus-visual
18781 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18782 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18783 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18786 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18787 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18790 @item group-highlight
18791 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18792 @item summary-highlight
18793 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18794 @item article-highlight
18795 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18797 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18799 Create menus in the group buffer.
18801 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18803 Create menus in the article buffer.
18805 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18807 Create menus in the server buffer.
18809 Create menus in the score buffers.
18811 Create menus in all buffers.
18814 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18815 buffers, you could say something like:
18818 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18821 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18824 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18827 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18828 in all Gnus buffers.
18830 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18833 @item gnus-mouse-face
18834 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18835 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18836 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18840 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18844 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18845 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18846 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18848 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18849 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18850 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18852 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18853 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18854 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18856 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18857 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18858 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18860 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18861 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18862 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18864 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18865 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18866 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18877 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18878 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18879 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18880 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18881 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18885 @vindex gnus-carpal
18886 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18887 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18888 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18893 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18894 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18895 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18897 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18898 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18899 Face used on buttons.
18901 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18902 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18903 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18905 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18906 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18907 Buttons in the group buffer.
18909 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18910 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18911 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18913 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18914 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18915 Buttons in the server buffer.
18917 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18918 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18919 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18922 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18923 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18924 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18932 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18933 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18934 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18935 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18936 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18938 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18939 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18940 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18942 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18943 been idle for thirty minutes:
18946 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18949 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18953 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18956 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18957 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18958 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18960 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18961 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18962 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18963 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18965 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18966 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18967 @var{idle} minutes.
18969 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18970 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18973 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18974 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18975 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18977 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18978 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18979 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18980 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18982 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18983 your @file{.gnus} file:
18985 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18987 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18990 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18991 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18992 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18993 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18994 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18995 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18996 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18997 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18998 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18999 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19000 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19002 @findex gnus-demon-init
19003 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19004 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19005 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19006 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19007 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19009 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19010 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19011 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19020 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19021 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
19023 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
19024 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
19025 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
19026 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
19029 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
19030 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
19031 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
19032 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
19034 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19035 this will make spam disappear.
19037 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19040 @item gnus-use-nocem
19041 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19042 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19045 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19046 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19047 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19048 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19049 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19051 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19052 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19053 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19054 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19055 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19056 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19058 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19059 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19061 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19062 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19063 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19064 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19065 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19066 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19067 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19068 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19069 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19070 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19072 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19073 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19076 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19079 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19080 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19083 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19086 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19089 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19090 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19092 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19093 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19094 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19095 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19097 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19098 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19101 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19103 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19111 This might be dangerous, though.
19113 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19114 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19115 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19116 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19118 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19119 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19120 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19121 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19122 might then see old spam.
19124 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19125 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19126 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19127 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19128 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19131 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19132 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19133 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19134 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19138 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19139 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19140 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19141 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19148 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19149 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19150 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19152 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19153 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19154 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19155 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19156 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19157 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19158 @code{undo} function.
19160 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19161 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19162 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19163 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19164 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19165 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19166 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19167 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19168 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19169 never be totally undoable.
19171 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19172 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19174 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19175 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19176 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19177 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19182 @section Moderation
19185 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19186 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19187 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19190 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19194 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19197 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19199 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19204 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19205 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19206 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19209 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19210 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19213 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19214 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19218 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19221 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19222 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19226 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19227 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19230 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19234 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19235 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19236 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19237 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19250 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19251 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19252 over your shoulder as you read news.
19255 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19256 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19257 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19258 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19259 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19264 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19266 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19275 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19276 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19277 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19278 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19279 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19280 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19281 @code{GIF} formats.
19284 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19285 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19286 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19287 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19288 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19290 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19291 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19292 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19293 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19294 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19295 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19298 @node Picon Requirements
19299 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19301 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19302 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19303 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19304 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19306 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19307 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19308 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19309 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19310 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19314 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19316 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19317 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19320 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19321 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19324 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19325 containing the Picons databases.
19327 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19330 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19331 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19336 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19344 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19345 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19346 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19347 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19348 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19353 @item gnus-picons-database
19354 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19355 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19356 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19357 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19358 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19359 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19361 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19362 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19363 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19364 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19365 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19366 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19367 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19369 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19370 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19371 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19372 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19373 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19374 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19375 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19376 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19378 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19379 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19380 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19385 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19386 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19388 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19389 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19392 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19394 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19395 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19396 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19397 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19399 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19400 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19401 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19407 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19408 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19416 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19417 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19418 don't need to worry about.
19422 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19423 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19424 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19425 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19427 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19428 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19429 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19430 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19432 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19433 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19434 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19435 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19436 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19438 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19439 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19440 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19441 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19442 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19443 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19444 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19446 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19447 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19448 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19449 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19451 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19452 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19453 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19454 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19455 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19456 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19457 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19459 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19460 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19461 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19462 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19464 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19465 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19466 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19467 Defaults to @code{t}.
19469 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19470 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19471 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19472 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19474 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19475 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19476 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19478 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19479 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19480 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19481 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19483 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19484 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19486 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19487 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19488 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19489 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19490 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19491 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19492 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19493 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19504 @subsection Smileys
19509 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19514 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19515 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19517 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19518 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19521 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19524 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19525 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19526 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19527 text and maps that to file names.
19529 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19530 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19531 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19532 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19533 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19534 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19536 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19537 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19539 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19540 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19541 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19543 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19544 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19548 @item smiley-data-directory
19549 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19550 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19552 @item smiley-flesh-color
19553 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19554 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19556 @item smiley-features-color
19557 @vindex smiley-features-color
19558 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19560 @item smiley-tongue-color
19561 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19562 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19564 @item smiley-circle-color
19565 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19566 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19568 @item smiley-mouse-face
19569 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19570 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19576 @subsection Toolbar
19586 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19587 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19588 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19589 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19590 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19592 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19593 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19594 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19596 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19597 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19598 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19600 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19601 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19602 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19608 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19611 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19612 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19613 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19614 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19615 unusual directory structure.
19617 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19618 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19619 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19620 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19622 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19623 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19624 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19625 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19626 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19627 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19629 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19630 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19631 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19645 @node Fuzzy Matching
19646 @section Fuzzy Matching
19647 @cindex fuzzy matching
19649 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19650 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19652 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19653 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19654 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19656 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19657 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19658 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19659 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19660 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19663 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19664 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19668 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19670 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19671 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19672 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19673 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19674 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19675 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19676 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19677 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19680 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19681 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19682 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19683 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19684 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19685 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19689 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19690 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19692 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19693 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19694 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19695 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19696 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19697 part of the mail address.)
19700 (setq message-default-news-headers
19701 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19704 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19705 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19710 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19711 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19712 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19718 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19719 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19720 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19721 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19723 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19724 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19725 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19726 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19727 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19728 your fancy split rule in this way:
19733 (to "larsi" "misc")
19737 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19738 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19739 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19740 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19741 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19743 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19744 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19745 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19746 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19747 cosmic balance somewhat.
19749 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19750 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19751 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19752 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19755 @node Various Various
19756 @section Various Various
19762 @item gnus-home-directory
19763 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19764 defaults to @file{~/}.
19766 @item gnus-directory
19767 @vindex gnus-directory
19768 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19769 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19770 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19772 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19773 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19774 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19775 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19777 @item gnus-default-directory
19778 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19779 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19780 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19781 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19782 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19783 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19784 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19787 @vindex gnus-verbose
19788 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19789 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19790 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19791 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19792 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19794 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19795 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19796 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19797 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19799 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19800 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19801 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19802 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19803 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19804 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19805 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19806 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19807 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19808 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19810 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19811 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19812 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19813 read when doing the operation described above.
19815 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19816 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19818 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19819 @cindex characters in file names
19820 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19821 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19822 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19825 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19829 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19830 Windows (phooey) systems.
19832 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19833 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19834 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19835 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19836 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19838 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19839 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19840 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19841 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19842 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19844 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19845 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19846 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19848 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19849 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19851 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19852 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19853 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19854 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19857 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19865 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19866 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19868 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19870 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19876 Not because of victories @*
19879 but for the common sunshine,@*
19881 the largess of the spring.
19885 but for the day's work done@*
19886 as well as I was able;@*
19887 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19888 but at the common table.@*
19893 @chapter Appendices
19896 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19897 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19898 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19899 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19900 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19901 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19902 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19903 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19911 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19912 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19914 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19915 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19916 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19917 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19918 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19920 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19921 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19922 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19923 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19924 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19925 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19927 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19928 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19929 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19930 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19933 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19934 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19935 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19936 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19937 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19938 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19939 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19940 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19941 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19945 @node Gnus Versions
19946 @subsection Gnus Versions
19947 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19949 @cindex September Gnus
19950 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19952 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19953 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19954 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19956 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19957 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19959 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19960 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19962 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19963 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19965 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19966 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19969 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19971 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19972 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19973 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19974 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19975 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19976 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19979 @node Other Gnus Versions
19980 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19983 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19984 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19985 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19986 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19988 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19989 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19990 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19991 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19998 What's the point of Gnus?
20000 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
20001 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
20002 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
20003 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
20004 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
20005 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
20006 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
20007 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
20008 keep track of millions of people who post?
20010 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
20011 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
20012 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
20013 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
20014 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
20015 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
20016 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
20017 every one of you to explore and invent.
20019 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
20020 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
20023 @node Compatibility
20024 @subsection Compatibility
20026 @cindex compatibility
20027 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
20028 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
20029 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
20034 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20038 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20041 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
20044 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
20045 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
20046 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
20047 important variables have their values copied into their global
20048 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
20049 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
20051 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
20052 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
20053 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
20054 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
20055 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20059 @cindex highlighting
20060 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20061 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20062 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20063 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20064 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20065 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20068 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20069 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20070 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20071 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20073 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20074 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20075 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20076 to stop doing it the old way.
20078 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20080 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20082 @cindex reporting bugs
20084 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20085 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20086 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20088 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20089 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20090 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20091 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20096 @subsection Conformity
20098 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20099 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20106 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20110 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20112 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20113 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20114 We do have some breaches to this one.
20120 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20121 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20122 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20123 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20124 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20129 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20130 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20131 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20132 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20136 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20137 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20142 @subsection Emacsen
20148 Gnus should work on :
20156 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20160 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20161 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20164 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20165 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20166 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20170 @node Gnus Development
20171 @subsection Gnus Development
20173 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20174 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20175 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20176 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20177 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20178 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20179 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20180 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20182 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20183 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20184 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20185 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20186 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20189 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20190 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20191 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20192 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20193 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20195 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20196 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20197 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20198 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20199 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20200 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20201 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20202 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20203 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20204 can't be assumed to do so.
20209 @subsection Contributors
20210 @cindex contributors
20212 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20213 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20214 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20215 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20216 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20217 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20218 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20219 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20220 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20221 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20223 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20229 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20232 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20233 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20234 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20235 functionality and stuff.
20238 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20239 well as numerous other things).
20242 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20245 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20248 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20251 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20254 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20255 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20258 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20261 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20262 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20265 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20268 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20271 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20274 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20277 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20278 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20281 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20284 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20287 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20290 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20294 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20297 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20300 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20303 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20304 well as autoconf support.
20308 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20309 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20311 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20320 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20324 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20334 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20349 Massimo Campostrini,
20354 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20355 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20359 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20362 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20368 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20373 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20377 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20385 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20387 Michelangelo Grigni,
20391 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20393 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20395 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20402 François Felix Ingrand,
20403 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20404 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20406 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20417 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20418 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20420 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20421 Thor Kristoffersen,
20424 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20442 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20443 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20450 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20455 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20459 John McClary Prevost,
20465 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20470 Christian von Roques,
20473 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20480 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20482 Randal L. Schwartz,
20496 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20501 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20517 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20522 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20523 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20524 (550kB and counting).
20526 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20529 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20530 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20534 @subsection New Features
20535 @cindex new features
20538 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20539 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20540 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20541 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20542 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20545 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20546 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20547 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20550 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20552 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20557 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20558 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20561 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20562 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20565 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20568 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20569 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20570 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20573 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20574 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20575 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20576 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20579 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20580 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20583 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20584 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20585 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20588 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20589 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20592 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20593 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20594 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20597 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20598 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20599 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20602 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20603 the @file{.emacs} file.
20606 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20607 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20610 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20611 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20614 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20615 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20618 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20619 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20622 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20623 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20626 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20629 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20630 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20633 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20634 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20637 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20638 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20641 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20644 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20645 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20648 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20652 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20656 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20657 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20660 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20666 @node September Gnus
20667 @subsubsection September Gnus
20671 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20675 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20680 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20681 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20685 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20686 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20690 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20694 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20695 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20698 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20702 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20705 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20708 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20711 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20715 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20716 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20719 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20723 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20727 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20731 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20735 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20738 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20739 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20742 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20746 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20747 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20750 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20753 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20754 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20755 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20758 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20762 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20765 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20769 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20770 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20773 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20774 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20777 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20778 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20781 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20782 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20783 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20786 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20787 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20790 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20793 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20796 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20799 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20802 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20803 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20806 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20810 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20813 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
20818 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20821 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20825 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20828 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20832 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20835 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20838 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20839 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20842 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20843 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20847 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20848 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20851 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20855 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20856 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20859 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20862 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20866 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20870 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20871 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20874 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20878 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20879 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20882 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20883 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20886 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20890 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20893 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20896 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20902 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20904 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20908 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
20915 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20918 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20919 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20922 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20923 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20927 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20928 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20931 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20934 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20935 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20938 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20942 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20943 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20947 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20948 Server Internals}).
20951 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20955 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20958 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20959 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20962 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20963 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20964 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20967 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20968 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20971 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20972 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20975 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20979 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20980 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20983 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20984 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20987 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20991 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20994 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20998 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20999 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21002 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
21003 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21006 A new command for reading collections of documents
21007 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
21008 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
21011 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
21015 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
21016 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
21019 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
21020 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
21021 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
21024 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
21025 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
21029 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
21033 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
21037 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
21042 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
21046 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
21050 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
21051 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
21054 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21060 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21062 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21067 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21068 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21069 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21072 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21073 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21074 group, which is created automatically.
21077 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21081 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21084 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21085 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21088 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21092 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21095 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21096 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21099 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21102 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21103 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21106 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21107 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21110 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21111 control over simplification.
21114 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21117 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21121 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21124 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21127 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21128 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21129 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21132 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21133 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21136 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21140 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21141 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21144 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21145 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21148 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21152 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21155 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21158 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21159 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21162 A new function for citing in Message has been
21163 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21166 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21169 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21173 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21174 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21177 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21178 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21181 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21184 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21188 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21189 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21191 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21196 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21197 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21199 If you used procmail like in
21202 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21203 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21204 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21205 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21208 this now has changed to
21212 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21216 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21217 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21220 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21221 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21224 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21225 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21228 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21229 called to position point.
21232 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21233 summary buffers and NOV files.
21236 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21237 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21240 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21241 subtly different manner.
21244 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21245 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21246 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21249 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21257 @section The Manual
21261 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21262 either @code{texi2dvi}
21264 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21265 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21267 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21269 The following conventions have been used:
21274 This is a @samp{string}
21277 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21280 This is a @file{file}
21283 This is a @code{symbol}
21287 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21291 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21294 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21297 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21300 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21301 ever get them confused.
21305 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21306 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21307 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21308 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21309 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21310 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21311 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21317 @node On Writing Manuals
21318 @section On Writing Manuals
21320 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21321 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21322 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21323 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21324 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21325 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21328 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21329 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21330 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21333 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21334 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21339 @section Terminology
21341 @cindex terminology
21346 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21347 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21348 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21349 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21350 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21354 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21355 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21356 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21357 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21361 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21365 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21370 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21371 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21372 is all done by the back ends.
21376 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21377 default, way of getting news.
21381 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21382 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21387 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21388 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21392 A message that has been posted as news.
21395 @cindex mail message
21396 A message that has been mailed.
21400 A mail message or news article
21404 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21409 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21414 A line from the head of an article.
21418 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21419 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21423 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21424 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21425 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21426 normal @sc{head} format.
21430 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21431 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21432 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21433 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21434 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21435 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21437 @item killed groups
21438 @cindex killed groups
21439 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21440 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21442 @item zombie groups
21443 @cindex zombie groups
21444 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21447 @cindex active file
21448 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21449 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21450 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21453 @cindex bogus groups
21454 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21455 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21456 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21459 @cindex activating groups
21460 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21461 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21462 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21466 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21468 @item select method
21469 @cindex select method
21470 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21473 @item virtual server
21474 @cindex virtual server
21475 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21476 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21477 whole is a virtual server.
21481 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21482 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21485 @item ephemeral groups
21486 @cindex ephemeral groups
21487 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21488 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21489 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21492 @cindex solid groups
21493 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21494 group buffer are solid groups.
21496 @item sparse articles
21497 @cindex sparse articles
21498 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21499 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21503 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21504 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21508 @cindex thread root
21509 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21510 articles in the thread.
21514 An article that has responses.
21518 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21522 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21523 specified by RFC 1153.
21529 @node Customization
21530 @section Customization
21531 @cindex general customization
21533 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21534 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21535 for some quite common situations.
21538 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21539 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21540 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21541 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21545 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21546 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21548 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21549 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21550 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21554 @item gnus-read-active-file
21555 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21556 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21557 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21558 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21559 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21561 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21562 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21563 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21564 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21568 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21569 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21571 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21572 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21573 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21577 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21578 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21579 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21580 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21581 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21583 @item gnus-visible-headers
21584 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21585 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21586 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21587 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21589 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21591 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21592 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21593 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21596 @item gnus-use-full-window
21597 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21598 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21599 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21600 want to read them anyway.
21602 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21603 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21606 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21607 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21608 lines, which might save some time.
21612 @node Little Disk Space
21613 @subsection Little Disk Space
21616 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21617 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21621 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21622 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21623 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21624 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21627 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21628 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21629 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21630 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21633 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21634 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21635 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21636 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21637 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21643 @subsection Slow Machine
21644 @cindex slow machine
21646 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21647 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21649 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21650 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21652 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21653 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21654 summary buffer faster.
21658 @node Troubleshooting
21659 @section Troubleshooting
21660 @cindex troubleshooting
21662 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21670 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21673 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21674 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21678 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21679 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21680 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21681 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21684 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21688 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21689 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21690 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21691 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21692 something like that.
21695 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21698 @cindex reporting bugs
21700 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21702 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21703 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21704 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21705 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21707 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21708 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21709 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21710 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21713 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21714 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21715 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21716 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21717 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21718 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21720 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21721 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21722 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21726 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21727 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21729 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21730 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21732 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21733 @cindex ding mailing list
21734 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21735 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21739 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21740 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21742 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21743 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21744 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21745 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21748 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21749 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21750 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21751 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21752 and general methods of operation.
21755 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21756 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21757 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21758 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21759 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21760 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21761 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21762 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21763 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21767 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21768 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21769 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21770 @cindex utility functions
21772 @cindex internal variables
21774 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21775 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21776 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21780 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21781 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21782 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21784 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21785 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21786 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21788 @item gnus-group-real-name
21789 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21790 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21793 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21794 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21795 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21796 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21798 @item gnus-get-info
21799 @findex gnus-get-info
21800 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21802 @item gnus-group-unread
21803 @findex gnus-group-unread
21804 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21808 @findex gnus-active
21809 The active entry for @var{group}.
21811 @item gnus-set-active
21812 @findex gnus-set-active
21813 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21815 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21816 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21817 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21820 @item gnus-continuum-version
21821 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21822 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21823 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21826 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21827 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21828 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21830 @item gnus-news-group-p
21831 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21832 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
21834 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21835 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21836 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21838 @item gnus-server-to-method
21839 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21840 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21842 @item gnus-server-equal
21843 @findex gnus-server-equal
21844 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21846 @item gnus-group-native-p
21847 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21848 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21850 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21851 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21852 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21854 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21855 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21856 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21858 @item group-group-find-parameter
21859 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21860 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21861 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21863 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21864 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21865 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21867 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21868 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21869 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21871 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21872 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21873 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
21874 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21877 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21881 @item gnus-read-method
21882 @findex gnus-read-method
21883 Prompts the user for a select method.
21888 @node Back End Interface
21889 @subsection Back End Interface
21891 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21892 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21893 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
21894 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21895 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21896 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21898 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
21899 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21900 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
21901 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21902 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21903 been opened, the function should fail.
21905 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21906 name. Take this example:
21910 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21911 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21914 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21915 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21917 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21918 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21919 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21921 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21922 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21923 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21925 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21926 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21927 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21928 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21929 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21930 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21933 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
21934 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
21935 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21936 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21939 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21940 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21941 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21942 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21943 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21944 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21945 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21946 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
21947 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21948 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21950 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21951 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21952 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21953 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21954 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21955 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21956 of numbers as long as possible.
21958 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
21961 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21964 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21965 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21966 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21967 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
21968 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21969 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
21973 @node Required Back End Functions
21974 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
21978 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21980 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21981 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
21982 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
21983 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21985 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21986 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21987 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21988 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21990 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21991 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21992 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21993 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21994 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
21995 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21996 number, do maximum fetches.
21998 Here's an example HEAD:
22001 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22002 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22003 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22004 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22005 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22006 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22007 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22009 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22010 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22011 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22015 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22016 these in the data buffer.
22018 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22022 head = error / valid-head
22023 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22024 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22025 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22026 header = <text> eol
22029 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22030 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22034 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22035 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22036 field = <text except TAB>
22039 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22043 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22045 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22046 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22048 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
22049 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22050 server. In fact, it should do so.
22052 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22053 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22056 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22058 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22059 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22062 There should be no data returned.
22065 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22067 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22068 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22069 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22070 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22072 There should be no data returned.
22075 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22077 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22078 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22079 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22080 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22082 There should be no data returned.
22085 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22087 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22089 There should be no data returned.
22092 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22094 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22095 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22096 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22097 it would be nice if that were possible.
22099 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22100 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22101 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22102 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22103 into its article buffer.
22105 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22106 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22107 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22108 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22109 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22110 on successful article retrieval.
22113 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22115 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22116 making @var{group} the current group.
22118 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22121 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22124 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22127 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22128 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22129 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22130 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22131 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22132 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22133 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22134 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22137 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22138 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22139 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22143 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22145 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22146 a no-op on most back ends.
22148 There should be no data returned.
22151 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22153 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22156 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22159 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22160 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22163 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22164 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22167 active-file = *active-line
22168 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22170 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22173 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22174 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22175 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22178 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22180 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22181 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22182 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22183 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22184 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22185 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22187 There should be no result data from this function.
22192 @node Optional Back End Functions
22193 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22197 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22199 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22200 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22201 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22203 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22204 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22205 former is in the same format as the data from
22206 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22207 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22210 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22214 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22216 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22217 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22218 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22219 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22220 should return the (altered) group info.
22222 There should be no result data from this function.
22225 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22227 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22228 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22229 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22230 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22231 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22232 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22233 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22234 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22236 There should be no result data from this function.
22239 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22241 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22242 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22243 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22244 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22245 propagate the mark information to the server.
22247 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22250 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22253 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22254 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22255 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22256 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22257 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22258 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22259 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22260 possible, not limit itself to these.
22262 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22263 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22264 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22265 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22267 An example action list:
22270 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22271 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22272 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22275 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22276 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22278 There should be no result data from this function.
22280 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22282 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22283 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22284 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22285 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22286 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22288 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22289 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22290 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22293 There should be no result data from this function.
22296 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22298 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22299 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22300 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22301 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22302 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22303 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22304 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22306 There should be no result data from this function.
22309 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22311 The result data from this function should be a description of
22315 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22317 description = <text>
22320 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22322 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22323 groups available on the server.
22326 description-buffer = *description-line
22330 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22332 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22333 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22334 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22335 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22336 in the active buffer format.
22338 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22339 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22340 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22341 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22342 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22343 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22344 likely that there can be many groups.
22347 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22349 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22351 There should be no return data.
22354 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22356 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22357 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22358 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22359 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22360 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22363 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22366 There should be no result data returned.
22369 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22372 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22373 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22375 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22376 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22377 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22378 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22379 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22380 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22382 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22383 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22386 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22387 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22389 There should be no data returned.
22392 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22394 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22395 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22396 this function in short order.
22398 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22399 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22401 There should be no data returned.
22404 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22406 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22407 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22409 There should be no data returned.
22412 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22414 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22415 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22416 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22418 There should be no data returned.
22421 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22423 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22424 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22426 There should be no data returned.
22431 @node Error Messaging
22432 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22434 @findex nnheader-report
22435 @findex nnheader-get-report
22436 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22437 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22438 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22439 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22440 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22441 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22444 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22446 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22449 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22450 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22451 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22452 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22454 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22455 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22456 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22459 @node Writing New Back Ends
22460 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22462 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22463 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22464 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22465 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22466 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22469 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22470 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22471 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22473 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22474 package called @code{nnoo}.
22476 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22477 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22483 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22484 parameters. For instance:
22487 (nnoo-declare nndir
22491 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22492 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22495 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22496 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22497 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22499 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22500 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22501 a function in those back ends.
22504 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22505 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22506 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22509 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22510 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22511 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22513 @item nnoo-define-basics
22514 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22518 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22522 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22523 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22524 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22526 @item nnoo-map-functions
22527 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22528 functions from the parent back ends.
22531 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22532 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22533 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22536 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22537 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22538 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22539 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22542 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22543 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22544 haven't already been defined.
22550 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22554 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22555 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22556 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22561 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22564 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22565 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22569 (require 'nnheader)
22573 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22575 (nnoo-declare nndir
22578 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22579 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22580 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22582 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22583 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22586 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22588 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22589 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22590 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22592 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22593 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22595 ;;; Interface functions.
22597 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22599 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22600 (setq nndir-directory
22601 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22603 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22604 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22605 (push `(nndir-current-group
22606 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22607 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22609 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22610 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22612 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22614 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22615 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22616 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22617 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22618 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22622 nnmh-status-message
22624 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22630 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22631 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22633 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22634 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22635 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22636 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22637 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22639 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22640 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22645 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22648 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22650 The abilities can be:
22654 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22656 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22658 This back end supports both mail and news.
22660 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22663 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22664 articles and groups.
22666 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22667 true for almost all back ends.
22668 @item prompt-address
22669 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22670 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22671 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22675 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22676 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22678 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22679 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22680 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22681 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22684 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22685 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22686 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22689 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22690 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22693 This function takes four parameters.
22697 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22700 @item exit-function
22701 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22703 @item temp-directory
22704 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22707 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22708 performed for one group only.
22711 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22712 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22713 find the article number assigned to this article.
22715 The function also uses the following variables:
22716 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22717 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22718 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22719 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22723 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22724 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22728 @node Score File Syntax
22729 @subsection Score File Syntax
22731 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22732 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22733 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22735 Here's a typical score file:
22739 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22746 BNF definition of a score file:
22749 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22750 element = rule / atom
22751 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22752 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22753 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22754 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22756 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22757 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22758 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22759 date-header = "date"
22760 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22761 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22762 score = "nil" / <integer>
22763 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22764 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22765 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22766 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22767 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22768 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22769 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22770 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22771 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22772 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22773 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22774 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22775 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22776 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22777 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22778 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22779 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22780 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22781 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22782 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22783 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22784 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22785 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22786 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22787 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22788 eval = "eval" space <form>
22789 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22792 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22795 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22796 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22797 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22798 one looong line, then that's ok.
22800 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22801 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22805 @subsection Headers
22807 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22808 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22809 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22810 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22812 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22813 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22814 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22815 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22816 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22817 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22818 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22820 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22821 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22822 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22823 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22824 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22826 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22827 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22833 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22834 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22836 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22837 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22838 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22839 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22841 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22845 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22848 is transformed into
22851 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22854 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22855 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22858 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22861 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22862 is slightly tricky:
22865 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22871 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22874 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22880 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22887 and is equal to the previous range.
22889 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22890 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22891 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22895 range = simple-range / normal-range
22896 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22897 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22898 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22899 number *[ " " contents ]
22902 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22903 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22904 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22905 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22906 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22911 @subsection Group Info
22913 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22914 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22915 describes the group.
22917 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22918 second is a more complex one:
22921 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22923 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22924 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22926 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22929 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22930 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22931 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22932 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22933 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22934 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22935 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22936 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22937 this section is about.
22939 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22940 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22941 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22943 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22946 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22947 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22948 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22949 group = quote <string> quote
22950 ralevel = rank / level
22951 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22952 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22953 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22955 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22956 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22957 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22958 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22961 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22962 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22965 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22966 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22969 @item gnus-info-group
22970 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22971 @findex gnus-info-group
22972 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22973 Get/set the group name.
22975 @item gnus-info-rank
22976 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22977 @findex gnus-info-rank
22978 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22979 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22981 @item gnus-info-level
22982 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22983 @findex gnus-info-level
22984 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22985 Get/set the group level.
22987 @item gnus-info-score
22988 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22989 @findex gnus-info-score
22990 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22991 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22993 @item gnus-info-read
22994 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22995 @findex gnus-info-read
22996 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22997 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22999 @item gnus-info-marks
23000 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23001 @findex gnus-info-marks
23002 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23003 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23005 @item gnus-info-method
23006 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23007 @findex gnus-info-method
23008 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23009 Get/set the group select method.
23011 @item gnus-info-params
23012 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23013 @findex gnus-info-params
23014 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23015 Get/set the group parameters.
23018 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23019 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23021 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23022 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23023 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23024 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23027 @node Extended Interactive
23028 @subsection Extended Interactive
23029 @cindex interactive
23030 @findex gnus-interactive
23032 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23033 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23034 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23037 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23038 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23043 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23044 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23045 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23046 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23047 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23048 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23049 @code{interactive}.
23051 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23056 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23057 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23061 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23062 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23063 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23066 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23070 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23074 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23080 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23081 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23085 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23086 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23087 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23089 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23090 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23091 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23092 Gnus, that's very useful.
23094 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23095 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23096 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23097 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23098 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23099 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23100 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23101 following function:
23104 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23108 (,function ,@@args))
23112 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23113 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23114 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23117 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23118 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23119 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23121 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23122 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23123 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23126 @node Various File Formats
23127 @subsection Various File Formats
23130 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23131 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23135 @node Active File Format
23136 @subsubsection Active File Format
23138 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23139 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23142 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23145 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23146 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23147 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23148 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23149 no.general 1000 900 y
23152 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23155 active = *group-line
23156 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23157 group = <non-white-space string>
23159 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23160 low-number = <positive integer>
23161 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23164 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23165 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23168 @node Newsgroups File Format
23169 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23171 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23172 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23173 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23176 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23177 Here's the definition:
23181 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23182 group = <non-white-space string>
23184 description = <string>
23189 @node Emacs for Heathens
23190 @section Emacs for Heathens
23192 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23193 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23194 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23195 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23196 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23197 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23198 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23202 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23203 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23208 @subsection Keystrokes
23212 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23215 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23218 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23219 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23220 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23221 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23222 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23223 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23225 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23226 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23227 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23228 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23229 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23230 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23231 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23233 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23234 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23235 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23236 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23237 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23238 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23239 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23241 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23242 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23243 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23244 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23245 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23251 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23253 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23254 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23255 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23256 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23258 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23259 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23260 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23261 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23262 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23263 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23264 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23267 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23268 write the following:
23271 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23274 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23275 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23276 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23279 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23280 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23281 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23282 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23283 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23285 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23286 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23287 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23291 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23295 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23298 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23299 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23302 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23305 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23306 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23309 @include gnus-faq.texi
23330 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23331 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23332 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23333 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23334 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref