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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
276 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
279 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
280 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
281 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
282 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
283 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
284 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
285 License'' in the Emacs manual.
287 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
288 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
289 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
291 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
292 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
293 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
294 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
302 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
304 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
306 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
307 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
308 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
309 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
310 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
311 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
312 License'' in the Emacs manual.
314 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
315 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
316 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
318 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
319 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
320 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
321 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
329 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
332 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
333 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
335 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
336 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
337 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
338 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
339 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
340 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
341 License'' in the Emacs manual.
343 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
344 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
345 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
347 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
348 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
349 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
350 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
359 @top The Gnus Newsreader
363 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
364 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
365 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
368 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.01.
379 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
380 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
382 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
383 being accused of plagiarism:
385 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
386 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
387 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
388 can even read news with it!
390 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
391 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
392 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
393 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
394 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
400 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
401 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
402 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
403 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
404 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
405 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
406 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
407 * Various:: General purpose settings.
408 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
409 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
410 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
411 * Key Index:: Key Index.
414 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
418 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
419 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
420 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
421 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
422 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
423 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
424 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
425 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
426 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
427 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
428 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
432 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
433 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
434 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
438 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
439 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
440 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
441 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
442 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
443 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
444 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
445 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
446 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
447 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
448 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
449 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
450 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
451 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
452 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
453 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
454 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
458 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
459 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
460 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
464 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
465 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
466 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
467 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
468 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
472 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
473 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
474 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
475 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
479 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
480 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
481 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
482 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
483 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
484 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
485 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
486 * Threading:: How threads are made.
487 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
488 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
489 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
490 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
491 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
492 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
493 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
494 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
495 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
496 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
497 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
498 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
499 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
500 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
501 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
502 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
503 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
504 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
505 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
506 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
507 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
509 Summary Buffer Format
511 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
512 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
513 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
514 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
518 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
519 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
521 Reply, Followup and Post
523 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
524 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
525 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
526 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
530 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
531 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
532 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
533 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
534 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
535 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
539 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
540 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
542 Customizing Threading
544 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
545 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
546 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
547 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
551 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
552 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
553 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
554 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
555 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
556 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
560 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
561 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
562 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
566 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
567 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
568 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
569 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
570 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
571 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
572 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
573 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
575 Alternative Approaches
577 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
578 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
580 Various Summary Stuff
582 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
583 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
584 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
585 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
589 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
590 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
591 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
592 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
593 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
597 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
598 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
599 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
600 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
601 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
602 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
603 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
607 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
608 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
609 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
610 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
611 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
612 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
613 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
617 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
618 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
619 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
620 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
621 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
622 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
623 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
627 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
628 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
632 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
633 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
634 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
635 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
636 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
637 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
638 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
639 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
640 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
641 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
642 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
643 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
644 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
648 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
649 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
650 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
652 Choosing a Mail Backend
654 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
655 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
656 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
657 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
658 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
659 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
663 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
664 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
665 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
666 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
670 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
671 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
672 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
673 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
674 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
675 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
679 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
683 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
684 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
685 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
689 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
690 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
691 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
695 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
696 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
700 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
701 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
702 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
703 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
704 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
705 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
706 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
707 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
708 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
709 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
713 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
714 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
715 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
719 * Group Agent Commands::
720 * Summary Agent Commands::
721 * Server Agent Commands::
725 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
726 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
727 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
728 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
729 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
730 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
731 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
732 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
733 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
734 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
735 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
736 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
737 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
738 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
739 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
740 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
744 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
745 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
746 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
747 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
751 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
752 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
753 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
757 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
758 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
759 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
760 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
761 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
762 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
763 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
764 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
765 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
766 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
767 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
768 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
769 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
770 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
771 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
772 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
773 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
774 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
778 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
779 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
780 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
781 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
782 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
786 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
787 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
788 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
789 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
793 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
794 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
795 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
796 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
797 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
801 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
802 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
803 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
804 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
805 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
806 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
807 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
808 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
812 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
813 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
814 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
815 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
816 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
817 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
818 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
819 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
820 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
821 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
825 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
826 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
827 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
828 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
832 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
833 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
834 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
835 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
839 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
840 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
841 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
842 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
843 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
844 * Group Info:: The group info format.
845 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
846 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
847 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
851 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
852 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
853 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
854 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
855 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
856 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
860 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
861 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
865 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
866 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
872 @chapter Starting Gnus
877 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
878 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
881 @findex gnus-other-frame
882 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
883 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
884 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
886 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
887 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
888 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
890 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
891 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
894 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
895 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
896 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
897 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
898 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
899 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
900 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
901 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
902 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
903 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
904 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
908 @node Finding the News
909 @section Finding the News
912 @vindex gnus-select-method
914 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
915 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
916 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
917 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
920 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
921 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
924 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
927 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
930 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
933 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
934 certainly be much faster.
936 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
938 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
939 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
940 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
941 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
942 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
943 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
945 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
946 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
947 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
948 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
950 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
951 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
952 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
953 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
954 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
955 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
956 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
957 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
958 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
961 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
963 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
964 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
965 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
966 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
967 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
968 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
970 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
972 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
973 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
974 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
975 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
976 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
977 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
980 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
981 would typically set this variable to
984 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
989 @section The First Time
990 @cindex first time usage
992 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
993 be subscribed by default.
995 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
996 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
997 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
998 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1001 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1002 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1003 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1005 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1006 help you with most common problems.
1008 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1009 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1013 @node The Server is Down
1014 @section The Server is Down
1015 @cindex server errors
1017 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1018 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1019 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1021 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1022 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1023 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1024 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1025 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1026 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1027 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1029 @findex gnus-no-server
1030 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1032 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1033 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1034 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1035 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1036 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1037 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1042 @section Slave Gnusae
1045 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1046 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1047 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1048 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1050 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1051 @code{.newsrc} file.
1053 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1054 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1055 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1056 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1057 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1058 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1059 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1061 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1062 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1063 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1064 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1065 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1066 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1067 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1068 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1070 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1071 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1074 @node Fetching a Group
1075 @section Fetching a Group
1076 @cindex fetching a group
1078 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1079 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1080 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1081 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1082 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1083 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1089 @cindex subscription
1091 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1092 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1093 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1094 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1095 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1096 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1097 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1098 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1099 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1102 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1103 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1104 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1108 @node Checking New Groups
1109 @subsection Checking New Groups
1111 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1112 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1113 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1114 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1115 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1116 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1117 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1118 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1119 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1120 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1122 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1123 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1124 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1125 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1126 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1127 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1128 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1129 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1130 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1131 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1132 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1134 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1135 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1136 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1137 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1138 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1139 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1142 @node Subscription Methods
1143 @subsection Subscription Methods
1145 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1146 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1147 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1149 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1150 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1152 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1156 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1157 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1158 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1159 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1160 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1162 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1163 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1164 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1165 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1167 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1168 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1169 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1171 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1172 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1173 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1174 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1175 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1176 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1177 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1178 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1179 up. Or something like that.
1181 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1182 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1183 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1184 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1185 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1187 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1188 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1189 Kill all new groups.
1191 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1192 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1193 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1194 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1195 topic parameter that looks like
1201 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1204 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1209 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1210 A closely related variable is
1211 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1212 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1213 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1214 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1217 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1218 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1219 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1220 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1223 @node Filtering New Groups
1224 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1226 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1227 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1228 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1231 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1235 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1236 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1237 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1238 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1239 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1240 subscribing these groups.
1241 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1242 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1244 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1245 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1246 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1247 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1248 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1249 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1250 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1251 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1253 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1254 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1255 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1256 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1257 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1258 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1259 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1260 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1261 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1262 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1264 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1265 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1268 @node Changing Servers
1269 @section Changing Servers
1270 @cindex changing servers
1272 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1273 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1274 very flaky and you want to use another.
1276 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1277 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1281 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1282 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1283 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1284 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1287 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1288 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1289 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1290 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1292 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1293 @findex gnus-change-server
1294 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1295 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1296 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1297 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1298 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1300 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1301 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1302 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1303 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1304 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1306 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1307 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1308 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1309 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1310 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1311 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1313 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1314 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1315 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1319 @section Startup Files
1320 @cindex startup files
1325 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1326 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1328 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1329 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1330 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1331 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1332 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1333 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1334 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1336 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1337 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1338 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1339 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1340 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1341 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1343 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1344 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1345 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1346 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1347 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1348 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1349 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1350 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1351 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1352 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1354 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1355 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1356 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1357 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1358 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1359 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1360 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1361 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1362 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1363 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1364 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1365 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1367 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1368 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1369 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1370 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1372 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1373 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1374 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1375 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1376 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1377 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1378 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1379 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1380 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1381 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1384 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1385 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1387 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1388 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1391 @vindex gnus-init-file
1392 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1393 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1394 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1395 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1396 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1397 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1398 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1399 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1400 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1406 @cindex dribble file
1409 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1410 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1411 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1412 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1413 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1416 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1417 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1420 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1421 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1422 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1424 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1425 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1426 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1427 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1428 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1429 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1431 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1432 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1433 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1436 @node The Active File
1437 @section The Active File
1439 @cindex ignored groups
1441 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1442 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1443 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1445 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1446 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1447 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1448 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1449 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1450 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1451 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1454 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1455 @c if you set it to anything else.
1457 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1459 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1460 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1461 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1463 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1464 you actually subscribe to.
1466 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1467 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1468 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1469 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1471 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1472 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1473 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1474 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1475 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1476 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1478 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1479 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1480 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1482 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1483 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1484 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1485 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1486 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1487 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1489 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1490 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1492 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1493 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1495 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1496 secondary select methods.
1499 @node Startup Variables
1500 @section Startup Variables
1504 @item gnus-load-hook
1505 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1506 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1507 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1508 times you start Gnus.
1510 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1511 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1512 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1514 @item gnus-startup-hook
1515 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1516 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1518 @item gnus-started-hook
1519 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1520 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1523 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1524 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1525 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1526 generating the group buffer.
1528 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1529 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1530 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1531 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1532 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1533 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1534 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1535 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1537 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1538 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1539 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1540 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1541 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1542 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1544 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1545 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1546 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1548 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1549 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1550 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1552 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1553 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1554 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1555 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1560 @node The Group Buffer
1561 @chapter The Group Buffer
1562 @cindex group buffer
1564 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1565 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1566 long as Gnus is active.
1570 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1571 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1572 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1573 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1574 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1575 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1576 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1577 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1583 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1584 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1585 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1586 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1587 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1588 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1589 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1590 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1591 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1592 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1593 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1594 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1595 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1596 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1597 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1598 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1599 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1603 @node Group Buffer Format
1604 @section Group Buffer Format
1607 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1608 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1609 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1613 @node Group Line Specification
1614 @subsection Group Line Specification
1615 @cindex group buffer format
1617 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1618 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1620 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1623 25: news.announce.newusers
1624 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1629 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1630 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1631 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1632 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1634 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1635 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1636 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1637 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1638 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1639 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1641 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1643 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1644 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1645 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1646 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1649 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1650 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1651 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1653 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1658 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1661 Whether the group is subscribed.
1664 Level of subscribedness.
1667 Number of unread articles.
1670 Number of dormant articles.
1673 Number of ticked articles.
1676 Number of read articles.
1679 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1680 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1683 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1686 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1695 Newsgroup description.
1698 @samp{m} if moderated.
1701 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1710 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1714 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1717 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1718 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1719 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1720 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1721 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1724 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1726 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1730 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1734 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1735 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1736 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1737 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1738 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1739 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1744 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1745 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1746 group, or a bogus native group.
1749 @node Group Modeline Specification
1750 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1751 @cindex group modeline
1753 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1754 The mode line can be changed by setting
1755 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1756 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1760 The native news server.
1762 The native select method.
1766 @node Group Highlighting
1767 @subsection Group Highlighting
1768 @cindex highlighting
1769 @cindex group highlighting
1771 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1772 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1773 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1774 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1775 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1777 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1781 (cond (window-system
1782 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1783 (defface my-group-face-1
1784 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1785 (defface my-group-face-2
1786 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1787 (defface my-group-face-3
1788 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1789 (defface my-group-face-4
1790 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1791 (defface my-group-face-5
1792 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1794 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1795 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1796 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1797 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1798 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1799 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1802 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1804 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1811 The number of unread articles in the group.
1815 Whether the group is a mail group.
1817 The level of the group.
1819 The score of the group.
1821 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1823 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1824 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1826 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1827 topic being inserted.
1830 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1831 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1832 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1834 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1835 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1836 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1837 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1838 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1841 @node Group Maneuvering
1842 @section Group Maneuvering
1843 @cindex group movement
1845 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1846 expected, hopefully.
1852 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1853 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1854 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1861 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1862 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1867 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1871 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1872 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1876 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1877 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1878 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1882 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1883 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1884 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1887 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1893 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1894 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1895 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1900 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1901 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1902 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1906 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1907 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1908 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1911 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1912 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1913 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1914 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1918 @node Selecting a Group
1919 @section Selecting a Group
1920 @cindex group selection
1925 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1926 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1927 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1928 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1929 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1930 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1931 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1932 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1933 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1934 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1936 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1937 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1938 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1940 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1941 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1946 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1947 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1948 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1949 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1950 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1954 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1955 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1956 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1957 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1958 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1959 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1960 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1961 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1962 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1963 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1966 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1967 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1968 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1969 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1970 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1973 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1974 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1975 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1976 doing any processing of its contents
1977 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1978 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1979 manner will have no permanent effects.
1983 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1984 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1985 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1986 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1987 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1988 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1989 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1990 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1993 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1994 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1995 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1996 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2001 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2002 full summary buffer.
2005 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2008 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2013 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2014 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2015 Useful functions include:
2018 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2019 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2020 don't select the article.
2022 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2023 Select the first unread article.
2025 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2026 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2030 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2031 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2032 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2036 @node Subscription Commands
2037 @section Subscription Commands
2038 @cindex subscription
2046 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2047 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2048 Toggle subscription to the current group
2049 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2056 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2057 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2058 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2064 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2065 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2066 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2072 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2073 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2076 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2077 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2078 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2079 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2080 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2086 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2087 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2091 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2092 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2095 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2096 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2097 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2098 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2099 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2100 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2101 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2102 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2103 @file{.newsrc} file.
2107 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2117 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2118 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2119 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2120 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2121 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2122 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2127 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2128 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2129 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2133 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2134 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2135 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2137 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2138 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2139 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2140 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2141 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2142 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2149 @section Group Levels
2153 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2154 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2155 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2156 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2157 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2159 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2165 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2166 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2167 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2168 prompted for a level.
2171 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2172 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2173 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2174 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2175 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2176 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2177 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2178 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2179 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2180 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2181 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2182 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2183 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2184 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2185 reasons of efficiency.
2187 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2188 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2190 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2191 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2192 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2193 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2194 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2195 groups are hidden, in a way.
2197 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2198 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2199 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2200 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2201 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2202 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2204 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2205 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2206 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2207 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2208 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2209 list of killed groups.)
2211 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2212 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2213 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2215 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2216 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2217 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2218 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2219 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2220 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2221 relevant valid ranges.
2223 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2224 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2225 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2226 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2227 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2228 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2231 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2232 one with the best level.
2234 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2235 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2236 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2239 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2240 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2241 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2242 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2245 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2246 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2247 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2248 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2250 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2251 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2252 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2253 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2254 to 5. The default is 6.
2258 @section Group Score
2263 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2264 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2265 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2268 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2269 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2270 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2271 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2272 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2273 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2274 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2275 least significant part.))
2277 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2278 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2279 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2280 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2281 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2282 action after each summary exit, you can add
2283 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2284 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2285 slow things down somewhat.
2288 @node Marking Groups
2289 @section Marking Groups
2290 @cindex marking groups
2292 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2293 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2294 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2295 bidding on those groups.
2297 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2298 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2299 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2307 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2308 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2314 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2315 Remove the mark from the current group
2316 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2320 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2321 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2325 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2326 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2330 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2331 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2335 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2336 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2337 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2340 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2342 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2343 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2344 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2345 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2346 the command to be executed.
2349 @node Foreign Groups
2350 @section Foreign Groups
2351 @cindex foreign groups
2353 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2354 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2355 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2356 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2363 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2364 @cindex making groups
2365 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2366 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2367 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2371 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2372 @cindex renaming groups
2373 Rename the current group to something else
2374 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2375 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2381 @findex gnus-group-customize
2382 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2386 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2387 @cindex renaming groups
2388 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2389 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2393 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2394 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2395 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2399 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2400 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2401 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2405 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2407 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2408 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2413 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2414 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2418 @cindex (ding) archive
2419 @cindex archive group
2420 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2421 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2422 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2423 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2424 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2425 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2426 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2430 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2432 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2433 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2434 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2435 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2439 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2441 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2442 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2443 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2447 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2448 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2450 Make a group based on some file or other
2451 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2452 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2453 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2454 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2455 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2456 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2457 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2461 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2462 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2463 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2464 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2468 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2473 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2474 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2475 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2476 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2477 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2478 @xref{Web Searches}.
2480 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2481 to a particular group by using a match string like
2482 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2485 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2486 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2487 This function will delete the current group
2488 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2489 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2490 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2491 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2492 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2496 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2497 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2498 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2502 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2503 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2504 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2507 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2510 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2511 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2512 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2513 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2514 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2515 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2519 @node Group Parameters
2520 @section Group Parameters
2521 @cindex group parameters
2523 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2524 Here's an example group parameter list:
2527 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2531 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2532 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2533 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2534 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2536 The following group parameters can be used:
2541 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2544 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2547 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2548 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2549 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2550 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2551 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2553 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2554 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2555 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2556 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2557 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2558 list address instead.
2562 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2565 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2568 It is totally ignored
2569 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2570 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2572 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2573 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2574 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2575 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2576 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2578 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2579 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2580 sending the message.
2584 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2585 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2586 of whether it has any unread articles.
2588 @item broken-reply-to
2589 @cindex broken-reply-to
2590 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2591 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2592 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2593 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2594 broken behavior. So there!
2598 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2599 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2603 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2604 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2605 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2610 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2611 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2612 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2613 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2614 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2615 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2616 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2620 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2621 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2622 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2625 @cindex total-expire
2626 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2627 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2628 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2629 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2634 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2635 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2636 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2637 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2638 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2639 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2642 @cindex score file group parameter
2643 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2644 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2645 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2648 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2649 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2650 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2651 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2654 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2655 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2656 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2657 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2660 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2661 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2665 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2668 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2673 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2674 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2675 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2679 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2680 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2681 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2683 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2684 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2685 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2686 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2687 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2688 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2689 @code{eval}ed there.
2691 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2692 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2693 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2694 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2695 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2698 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2699 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2700 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2701 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2702 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2704 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2705 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2706 like this in the group parameters:
2711 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2715 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2716 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2717 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2718 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2719 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2723 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2724 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2728 @node Listing Groups
2729 @section Listing Groups
2730 @cindex group listing
2732 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2740 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2741 List all groups that have unread articles
2742 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2743 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2744 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2745 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2752 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2753 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2754 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2755 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2756 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2757 unsubscribed groups).
2761 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2762 List all unread groups on a specific level
2763 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2764 with no unread articles.
2768 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2769 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2770 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2771 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2776 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2777 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2781 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2782 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2783 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2787 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2788 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2792 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2793 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2794 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2795 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2796 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2797 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2798 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2799 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2803 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2804 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2805 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2809 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2810 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2811 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2815 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2816 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2820 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2821 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2825 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2826 List groups limited within the current selection
2827 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2831 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2832 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2836 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2837 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2841 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2842 @cindex visible group parameter
2843 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2844 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2845 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2846 get the same effect.
2848 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2849 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2850 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2851 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2852 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2855 @node Sorting Groups
2856 @section Sorting Groups
2857 @cindex sorting groups
2859 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2860 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2861 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2862 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2863 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2864 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2869 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2870 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2871 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2873 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2874 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2875 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2877 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2878 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2879 Sort by group level.
2881 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2882 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2883 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2885 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2886 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2887 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2888 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2890 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2891 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2892 Sort by number of unread articles.
2894 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2895 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2896 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2898 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
2899 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
2900 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
2905 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2906 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2910 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2911 some sorting criteria:
2915 @kindex G S a (Group)
2916 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2917 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2918 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2921 @kindex G S u (Group)
2922 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2923 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2924 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2927 @kindex G S l (Group)
2928 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2929 Sort the group buffer by group level
2930 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2933 @kindex G S v (Group)
2934 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2935 Sort the group buffer by group score
2936 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2939 @kindex G S r (Group)
2940 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2941 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2942 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2945 @kindex G S m (Group)
2946 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2947 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2948 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2952 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2953 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2955 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2956 commands will sort in reverse order.
2958 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2962 @kindex G P a (Group)
2963 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2964 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2965 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2968 @kindex G P u (Group)
2969 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2970 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2971 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2974 @kindex G P l (Group)
2975 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2976 Sort the groups by group level
2977 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2980 @kindex G P v (Group)
2981 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2982 Sort the groups by group score
2983 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2986 @kindex G P r (Group)
2987 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2988 Sort the groups by group rank
2989 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2992 @kindex G P m (Group)
2993 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2994 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2995 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3001 @node Group Maintenance
3002 @section Group Maintenance
3003 @cindex bogus groups
3008 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3009 Find bogus groups and delete them
3010 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3014 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3015 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3016 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3017 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3018 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3022 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3023 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3024 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3025 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
3028 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3029 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3030 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
3031 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3036 @node Browse Foreign Server
3037 @section Browse Foreign Server
3038 @cindex foreign servers
3039 @cindex browsing servers
3044 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3045 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3046 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3047 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3050 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3051 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3052 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3053 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3055 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3060 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3061 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3065 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3066 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3069 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3070 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3071 Enter the current group and display the first article
3072 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3075 @kindex RET (Browse)
3076 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3077 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3081 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3082 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3083 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3089 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3090 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3094 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3095 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3096 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3101 @section Exiting Gnus
3102 @cindex exiting Gnus
3104 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3109 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3110 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3111 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3112 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3116 @findex gnus-group-exit
3117 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3118 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3122 @findex gnus-group-quit
3123 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3124 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3127 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3128 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3129 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3130 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3131 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3136 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3137 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3138 trying to customize meta-variables.
3143 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3144 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3145 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3151 @section Group Topics
3154 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3155 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3156 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3157 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3158 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3159 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3163 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3164 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3175 2: alt.religion.emacs
3178 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3180 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3181 13: comp.sources.unix
3184 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3186 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3187 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3188 is a toggling command.)
3190 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3191 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3192 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3193 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3196 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3197 the hook for the group mode:
3200 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3204 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3205 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3206 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3207 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3208 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3212 @node Topic Variables
3213 @subsection Topic Variables
3214 @cindex topic variables
3216 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3217 really neat, I think.
3219 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3220 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3221 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3234 Number of groups in the topic.
3236 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3238 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3241 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3242 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3243 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3246 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3247 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3249 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3250 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3251 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3254 @node Topic Commands
3255 @subsection Topic Commands
3256 @cindex topic commands
3258 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3259 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3260 definitions slightly.
3266 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3267 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3268 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3272 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3273 Move the current group to some other topic
3274 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3275 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3279 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3280 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3284 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3285 Copy the current group to some other topic
3286 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3287 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3291 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3292 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3293 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3297 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3298 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3299 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3303 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3304 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3305 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3306 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3307 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3308 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3309 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3312 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3313 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3317 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3318 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3319 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3323 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3324 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3325 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3329 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3330 Toggle hiding empty topics
3331 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3335 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3336 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3337 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3340 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3341 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3342 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3343 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3347 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3349 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3350 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3351 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3352 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3355 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3356 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3357 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3358 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3362 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3364 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3365 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3366 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3367 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3368 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3369 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3372 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3373 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3374 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3375 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3379 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3380 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3381 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3385 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3386 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3387 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3392 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3393 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3396 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3397 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3398 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3402 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3403 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3404 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3408 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3409 @cindex group parameters
3410 @cindex topic parameters
3412 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3413 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3419 @subsection Topic Sorting
3420 @cindex topic sorting
3422 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3428 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3429 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3430 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3431 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3434 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3435 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3436 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3437 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3440 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3441 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3442 Sort the current topic by group level
3443 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3446 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3447 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3448 Sort the current topic by group score
3449 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3452 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3453 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3454 Sort the current topic by group rank
3455 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3458 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3459 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3460 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3461 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3465 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3468 @node Topic Topology
3469 @subsection Topic Topology
3470 @cindex topic topology
3473 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3479 2: alt.religion.emacs
3482 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3484 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3485 13: comp.sources.unix
3488 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3489 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3490 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3495 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3496 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3500 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3501 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3502 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3503 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3504 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3505 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3507 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3508 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3509 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3512 @node Topic Parameters
3513 @subsection Topic Parameters
3514 @cindex topic parameters
3516 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3517 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3518 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3520 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3525 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3526 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3527 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3532 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3533 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3534 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3535 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3541 2: alt.religion.emacs
3545 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3547 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3548 13: comp.sources.unix
3552 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3553 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3554 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3555 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3556 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3557 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3559 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3560 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3561 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3562 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3563 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3565 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3566 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3567 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3568 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3569 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3570 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3571 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3572 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3575 @node Misc Group Stuff
3576 @section Misc Group Stuff
3579 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3580 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3581 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3582 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3589 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3590 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3591 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3595 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3596 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3597 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3601 @findex gnus-group-mail
3602 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3606 Variables for the group buffer:
3610 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3611 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3612 is called after the group buffer has been
3615 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3616 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3617 is called after the group buffer is
3618 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3621 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3622 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3623 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3624 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3626 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3627 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3628 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3629 whether they are empty or not.
3631 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3632 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3633 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3634 non-ASCII group names.
3638 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3639 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3642 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3643 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3644 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3645 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3649 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3650 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3655 @node Scanning New Messages
3656 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3657 @cindex new messages
3658 @cindex scanning new news
3664 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3665 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3666 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3667 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3668 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3669 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3674 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3675 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3676 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3677 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3678 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3679 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3680 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3682 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3683 @cindex activating groups
3685 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3686 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3691 @findex gnus-group-restart
3692 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3693 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3694 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3698 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3699 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3701 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3702 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3706 @node Group Information
3707 @subsection Group Information
3708 @cindex group information
3709 @cindex information on groups
3716 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3717 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3720 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3721 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3722 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3723 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3724 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3725 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3726 for fetching the file.
3728 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3729 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3733 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3735 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3736 @cindex describing groups
3737 @cindex group description
3738 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3739 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3740 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3744 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3745 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3746 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3753 @findex gnus-version
3754 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3758 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3759 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3762 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3765 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3766 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3770 @node Group Timestamp
3771 @subsection Group Timestamp
3773 @cindex group timestamps
3775 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3776 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3777 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3780 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3783 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3785 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3786 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3789 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3790 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3793 This will result in lines looking like:
3796 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3797 0: custom 19961002T012713
3800 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3801 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3805 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3806 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3811 @subsection File Commands
3812 @cindex file commands
3818 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3819 @vindex gnus-init-file
3820 @cindex reading init file
3821 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3822 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3826 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3827 @cindex saving .newsrc
3828 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3829 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3830 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3833 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3834 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3835 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3840 @node The Summary Buffer
3841 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3842 @cindex summary buffer
3844 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3845 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3847 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3848 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3850 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3853 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3854 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3855 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3856 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3857 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3858 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3859 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3860 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3861 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3862 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3863 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3864 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3865 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3866 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3867 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3868 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3869 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3870 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3871 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3872 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3873 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3874 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3875 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3876 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3877 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3878 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
3879 or reselecting the current group.
3880 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3881 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3882 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
3886 @node Summary Buffer Format
3887 @section Summary Buffer Format
3888 @cindex summary buffer format
3892 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3893 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3894 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3900 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3901 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3902 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3903 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3906 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3907 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3908 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3909 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3910 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3911 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3912 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3913 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3914 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3915 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3916 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3919 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3920 'mail-extract-address-components)
3923 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3924 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3925 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3926 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3929 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3930 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3932 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3933 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3934 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3935 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3936 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3938 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3940 The following format specification characters are understood:
3946 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3947 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3949 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3950 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3951 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3953 Full @code{From} header.
3955 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3957 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3958 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3960 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3961 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3962 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3963 may be more thorough.
3965 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3968 Number of lines in the article.
3970 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3971 methods (like nnfolder).
3973 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3975 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3976 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3978 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3979 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3981 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3982 for adopted articles.
3984 One space for each thread level.
3986 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3991 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3992 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3996 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3998 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3999 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4000 default level. If the difference between
4001 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4002 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4010 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4012 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4018 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4019 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4021 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4022 article has any children.
4028 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4029 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4030 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4031 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4032 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4033 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4036 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4037 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4038 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4039 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4040 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4041 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4043 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4044 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4046 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4049 @node To From Newsgroups
4050 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4054 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4055 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4056 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4057 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4058 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4062 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4063 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4064 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4068 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4069 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4072 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4073 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4076 @findex gnus-extra-header
4077 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4078 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4079 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4082 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4086 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4087 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4088 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4089 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4090 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4091 headers are used instead.
4095 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4096 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4097 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4098 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4101 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4102 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4103 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4104 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4106 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4109 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4111 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4112 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4113 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4114 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4118 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4119 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4126 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4127 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4130 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4131 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4133 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4134 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4135 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4136 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4138 Here are the elements you can play with:
4144 Unprefixed group name.
4146 Current article number.
4148 Current article score.
4152 Number of unread articles in this group.
4154 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4157 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4158 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4159 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4160 and no unselected ones.
4162 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4163 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4165 Subject of the current article.
4167 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4169 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4171 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4173 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4175 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4177 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4181 @node Summary Highlighting
4182 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4186 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4187 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4188 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4189 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4190 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4192 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4193 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4194 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4195 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4197 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4198 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4199 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4200 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4202 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4203 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4204 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4205 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4206 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4207 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4210 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4211 ((> score default) . bold))
4213 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4214 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4218 @node Summary Maneuvering
4219 @section Summary Maneuvering
4220 @cindex summary movement
4222 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4223 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4225 None of these commands select articles.
4230 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4231 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4232 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4233 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4234 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4238 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4239 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4240 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4241 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4242 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4247 @kindex G j (Summary)
4248 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4249 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4250 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4253 @kindex G g (Summary)
4254 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4255 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4256 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4259 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4260 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4261 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4262 to the group buffer.
4264 Variables related to summary movement:
4268 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4269 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4270 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4271 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4272 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4273 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4274 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4275 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4276 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4277 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4278 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4279 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4280 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4281 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4283 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4284 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4285 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4286 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4287 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4288 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4289 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4291 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4293 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4294 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4295 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4296 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4297 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4299 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4300 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4301 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4302 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4303 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4304 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4305 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4306 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4309 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4310 the given number of lines from the top.
4315 @node Choosing Articles
4316 @section Choosing Articles
4317 @cindex selecting articles
4320 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4321 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4325 @node Choosing Commands
4326 @subsection Choosing Commands
4328 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4329 and they all select and display an article.
4331 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4332 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4336 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4337 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4338 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4339 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4344 @kindex G n (Summary)
4345 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4346 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4347 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4352 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4353 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4354 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4359 @kindex G N (Summary)
4360 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4361 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4366 @kindex G P (Summary)
4367 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4368 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4371 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4373 Go to the next article with the same subject
4374 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4377 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4379 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4380 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4384 @kindex G f (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4387 Go to the first unread article
4388 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4392 @kindex G b (Summary)
4394 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4395 Go to the article with the highest score
4396 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4401 @kindex G l (Summary)
4402 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4403 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4406 @kindex G o (Summary)
4407 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4409 @cindex article history
4410 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4411 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4412 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4413 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4414 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4415 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4419 @node Choosing Variables
4420 @subsection Choosing Variables
4422 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4425 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4426 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4427 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4428 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4429 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4430 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4432 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4433 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4434 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4435 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4437 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4438 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4439 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4440 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4441 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4442 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4443 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4444 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4445 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4446 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4447 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4448 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4449 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4450 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4455 @node Paging the Article
4456 @section Scrolling the Article
4457 @cindex article scrolling
4462 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4463 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4464 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4465 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4466 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4469 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4470 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4471 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4474 @kindex RET (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4476 Scroll the current article one line forward
4477 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4480 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4481 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4482 Scroll the current article one line backward
4483 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4487 @kindex A g (Summary)
4489 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4490 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4491 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4492 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4493 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4494 the way it came from the server.
4496 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4497 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4498 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4501 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4506 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4511 @kindex A < (Summary)
4512 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4513 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4514 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4519 @kindex A > (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4521 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4525 @kindex A s (Summary)
4527 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4528 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4529 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4533 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4534 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4539 @node Reply Followup and Post
4540 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4543 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4544 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4545 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4546 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4550 @node Summary Mail Commands
4551 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4553 @cindex composing mail
4555 Commands for composing a mail message:
4561 @kindex S r (Summary)
4563 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4564 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4565 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4566 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4567 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4572 @kindex S R (Summary)
4573 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4574 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4575 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4576 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4577 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4580 @kindex S w (Summary)
4581 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4582 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4583 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4584 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4585 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4588 @kindex S W (Summary)
4589 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4590 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4591 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4592 the process/prefix convention.
4596 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4597 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4598 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4599 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4600 Forward the current article to some other person
4601 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4602 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4603 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4604 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4605 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4606 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4607 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4608 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4609 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4614 @kindex S m (Summary)
4615 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4616 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4617 Send a mail to some other person
4618 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4621 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4622 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4623 @cindex bouncing mail
4624 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4625 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4626 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4627 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4628 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4629 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4630 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4631 very well fail, though.
4634 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4635 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4636 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4637 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4638 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4639 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4640 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4641 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4642 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4643 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4645 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4646 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4647 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4648 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4649 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4651 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4652 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4655 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4656 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4657 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4658 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4659 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4662 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4663 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4664 @cindex crossposting
4665 @cindex excessive crossposting
4666 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4667 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4669 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4670 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4671 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4672 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4673 command understands the process/prefix convention
4674 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4678 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4681 @node Summary Post Commands
4682 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4684 @cindex composing news
4686 Commands for posting a news article:
4692 @kindex S p (Summary)
4693 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4694 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4695 Post an article to the current group
4696 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4701 @kindex S f (Summary)
4702 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4703 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4704 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4708 @kindex S F (Summary)
4710 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4711 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4712 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4713 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4714 process/prefix convention.
4717 @kindex S n (Summary)
4718 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4719 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4720 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4723 @kindex S N (Summary)
4724 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4725 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4726 message through mail and include the original message
4727 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4728 the process/prefix convention.
4731 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4732 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4733 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4734 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4735 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4736 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4737 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4738 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4739 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4740 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4741 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4742 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4743 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4746 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4747 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4749 @cindex making digests
4750 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4751 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4752 process/prefix convention.
4755 @kindex S u (Summary)
4756 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4757 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4758 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4759 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4762 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4765 @node Summary Message Commands
4766 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4770 @kindex S y (Summary)
4771 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4772 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4773 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4774 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4775 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4780 @node Canceling and Superseding
4781 @subsection Canceling Articles
4782 @cindex canceling articles
4783 @cindex superseding articles
4785 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4786 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4788 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4790 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4792 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4793 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4794 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4795 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4796 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4797 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4799 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4800 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4803 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4804 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4805 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4807 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4808 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4809 your original article.
4811 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4813 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4814 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4815 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4818 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4819 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4820 have posted almost the same article twice.
4822 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4823 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4824 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4825 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4826 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4827 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4828 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4829 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4830 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4831 canceled/superseded.
4833 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4836 @node Marking Articles
4837 @section Marking Articles
4838 @cindex article marking
4839 @cindex article ticking
4842 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4844 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4845 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4846 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4848 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4851 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4852 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4853 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4857 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4861 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4862 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4863 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4867 @node Unread Articles
4868 @subsection Unread Articles
4870 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4875 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4876 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4878 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4879 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4880 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4881 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4882 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4886 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4887 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4889 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4890 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4891 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4894 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4895 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4897 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4902 @subsection Read Articles
4903 @cindex expirable mark
4905 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4910 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4911 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4912 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4915 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4916 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4919 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4920 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4921 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4924 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4925 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4928 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4929 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4932 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4933 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4936 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4937 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4940 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4941 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4944 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4945 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4948 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4949 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4953 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4954 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4955 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4959 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4960 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4962 One more special mark, though:
4966 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4967 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4969 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4970 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4971 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4972 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4978 @subsection Other Marks
4979 @cindex process mark
4982 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4988 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4989 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4990 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4991 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4992 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4995 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4996 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4997 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4998 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5001 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5002 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5003 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5006 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5007 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5008 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5009 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5012 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5013 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5014 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5015 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5016 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5019 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5020 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5021 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5022 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5023 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5024 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5028 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5029 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5030 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5032 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5033 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5034 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5038 @subsection Setting Marks
5039 @cindex setting marks
5041 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5046 @kindex M c (Summary)
5047 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5048 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5049 @cindex mark as unread
5050 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5051 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5057 @kindex M t (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5059 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5060 @xref{Article Caching}.
5065 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5067 Mark the current article as dormant
5068 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5072 @kindex M d (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5075 Mark the current article as read
5076 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5080 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5081 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5082 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5087 @kindex M k (Summary)
5088 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5089 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5090 and then select the next unread article
5091 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5095 @kindex M K (Summary)
5096 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5098 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5099 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5102 @kindex M C (Summary)
5103 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5104 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5105 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5108 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5109 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5110 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5111 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5114 @kindex M H (Summary)
5115 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5116 Catchup the current group to point
5117 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5120 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5122 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5123 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5126 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5127 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5128 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5129 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5133 @kindex M e (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5136 Mark the current article as expirable
5137 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5140 @kindex M b (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5142 Set a bookmark in the current article
5143 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5146 @kindex M B (Summary)
5147 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5148 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5149 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5152 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5153 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5154 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5155 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5158 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5160 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5161 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5164 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5166 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5167 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5168 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5171 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5172 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5173 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5174 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5175 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5176 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5177 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5178 The default is @code{t}.
5181 @node Generic Marking Commands
5182 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5184 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5185 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5186 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5187 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5188 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5191 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5192 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5195 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5196 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5197 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5198 to list in this manual.
5200 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5201 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5202 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5203 article, you could say something like:
5206 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5207 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5208 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5214 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5215 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5219 @node Setting Process Marks
5220 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5221 @cindex setting process marks
5228 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5229 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5230 Mark the current article with the process mark
5231 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5232 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5236 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5237 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5238 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5239 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5242 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5243 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5244 Remove the process mark from all articles
5245 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5248 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5249 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5250 Invert the list of process marked articles
5251 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5254 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5255 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5256 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5257 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5260 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5261 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5262 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5263 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5266 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5268 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5271 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5272 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5273 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5274 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5277 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5278 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5279 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5280 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5283 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5285 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5286 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5289 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5290 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5291 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5294 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5295 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5296 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5297 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5300 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5302 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5305 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5307 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5308 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5311 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5313 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5314 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5317 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5318 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5319 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5320 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5323 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5324 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5325 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5326 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5330 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5331 set process marks based on article body contents.
5338 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5339 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5340 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5343 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5344 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5345 additional articles.
5351 @kindex / / (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5353 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5354 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5357 @kindex / a (Summary)
5358 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5359 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5360 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5363 @kindex / x (Summary)
5364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5365 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5366 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5367 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5371 @kindex / u (Summary)
5373 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5374 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5375 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5376 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5377 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5380 @kindex / m (Summary)
5381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5382 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5383 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5386 @kindex / t (Summary)
5387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5388 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5390 articles younger than that number of days.
5393 @kindex / n (Summary)
5394 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5395 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5396 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5397 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5400 @kindex / w (Summary)
5401 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5402 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5403 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5407 @kindex / v (Summary)
5408 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5409 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5410 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5414 @kindex M S (Summary)
5415 @kindex / E (Summary)
5416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5417 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5418 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5421 @kindex / D (Summary)
5422 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5423 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5424 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5427 @kindex / * (Summary)
5428 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5429 Include all cached articles in the limit
5430 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5433 @kindex / d (Summary)
5434 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5435 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5436 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5439 @kindex / M (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5441 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5444 @kindex / T (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5446 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5449 @kindex / c (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5451 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5452 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5455 @kindex / C (Summary)
5456 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5457 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5458 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5459 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5467 @cindex article threading
5469 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5470 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5471 hierarchical fashion.
5473 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5474 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5475 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5476 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5477 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5478 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5479 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5481 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5485 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5488 A tree-like article structure.
5491 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5494 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5495 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5496 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5497 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5498 called loose threads.
5500 @item thread gathering
5501 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5503 @item sparse threads
5504 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5505 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5511 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5512 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5516 @node Customizing Threading
5517 @subsection Customizing Threading
5518 @cindex customizing threading
5521 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5522 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5523 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5524 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5529 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5532 @cindex loose threads
5535 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5536 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5537 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5538 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5539 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5540 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5542 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5543 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5544 There are four possible values:
5548 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5549 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5550 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5551 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5552 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5557 @cindex adopting articles
5562 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5563 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5564 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5565 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5568 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5569 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5570 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5571 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5572 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5573 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5574 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5577 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5578 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5579 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5583 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5584 display them after one another.
5587 Don't gather loose threads.
5590 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5591 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5592 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5593 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5594 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5595 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5596 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5597 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5598 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5599 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5600 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5602 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5603 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5604 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5607 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5608 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5609 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5610 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5611 simplification is used.
5613 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5614 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5615 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5616 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5618 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5620 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5626 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5627 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5628 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5629 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5634 (mapconcat 'identity
5635 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5637 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5640 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5643 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5644 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5645 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5646 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5647 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5648 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5650 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5653 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5654 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5655 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5657 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5658 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5661 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5662 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5663 Remove excessive whitespace.
5666 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5669 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5670 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5671 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5672 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5673 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5674 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5675 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5676 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5678 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5679 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5680 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5681 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5682 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5683 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5684 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5685 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5686 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5690 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5691 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5692 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5693 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5695 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5696 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5697 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5700 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5704 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5705 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5711 @node Filling In Threads
5712 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5715 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5716 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5717 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5718 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5719 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5720 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5721 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5722 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5723 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5724 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5725 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5726 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5728 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5729 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5730 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5732 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5733 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5734 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5735 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5736 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5737 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5738 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5739 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5740 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5741 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5742 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5743 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5744 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5745 @code{nil} by default.
5750 @node More Threading
5751 @subsubsection More Threading
5754 @item gnus-show-threads
5755 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5756 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5757 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5758 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5759 slower and more awkward.
5761 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5762 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5763 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5766 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5767 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5768 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5769 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5770 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5771 threads are expunged.
5773 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5774 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5775 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5778 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5779 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5780 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5781 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5782 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5785 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5786 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5787 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5790 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5791 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5792 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5793 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5794 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5795 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5796 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5797 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5798 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5799 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5800 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5805 @node Low-Level Threading
5806 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5810 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5811 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5812 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5814 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5815 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5816 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5817 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5818 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5819 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5820 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5821 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5822 meaningful. Here's one example:
5825 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5827 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5828 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5830 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5832 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5839 @node Thread Commands
5840 @subsection Thread Commands
5841 @cindex thread commands
5847 @kindex T k (Summary)
5848 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5849 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5850 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5851 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5852 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5857 @kindex T l (Summary)
5858 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5860 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5861 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5864 @kindex T i (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5866 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5870 @kindex T # (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5872 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5873 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5876 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5878 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5879 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5882 @kindex T T (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5884 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5887 @kindex T s (Summary)
5888 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5889 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5890 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5893 @kindex T h (Summary)
5894 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5895 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5898 @kindex T S (Summary)
5899 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5900 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5903 @kindex T H (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5905 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5908 @kindex T t (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5910 Re-thread the current article's thread
5911 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5912 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5915 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5917 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5918 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5922 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5923 understand the numeric prefix.
5928 @kindex T n (Summary)
5930 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5932 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5934 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5937 @kindex T p (Summary)
5939 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5941 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5943 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5946 @kindex T d (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5948 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5951 @kindex T u (Summary)
5952 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5953 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5956 @kindex T o (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5958 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5961 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5962 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5963 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5964 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5965 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5966 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5967 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5968 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5969 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5970 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5971 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5972 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5979 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5980 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5981 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5982 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5983 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5984 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5985 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5986 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5987 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5988 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5989 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5991 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5992 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5993 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5994 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5995 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5997 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5998 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5999 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6001 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6002 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6003 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6004 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6005 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6006 ascending article order.
6008 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6009 by number, you could do something like:
6012 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6013 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6014 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6015 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6018 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6019 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6020 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6021 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6022 which the articles arrived.
6024 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6028 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6030 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6031 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6034 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6035 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6036 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6037 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6040 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6041 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6042 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6043 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6044 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6045 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6046 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6047 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6048 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6049 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6050 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6051 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6052 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6054 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6058 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6059 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6060 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6065 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6066 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6067 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6068 @cindex article pre-fetch
6071 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6072 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6073 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6074 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6075 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6077 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6078 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6080 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6081 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6082 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6083 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6084 connection is blocked.
6086 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6087 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6088 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6089 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6091 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6092 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6093 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6094 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6097 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6100 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6101 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6102 happen automatically.
6104 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6105 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6106 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6107 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6108 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6109 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6110 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6112 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6113 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6114 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6115 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6116 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6117 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6118 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6119 data structure as the only parameter.
6121 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6124 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6125 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6126 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6127 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6130 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6133 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6134 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6135 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6137 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6138 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6139 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6140 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6144 Remove articles when they are read.
6147 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6150 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6152 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6153 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6154 @c from the next group.
6157 @node Article Caching
6158 @section Article Caching
6159 @cindex article caching
6162 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6163 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6164 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6165 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6166 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6168 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6170 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6171 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6172 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6173 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6174 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6175 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6176 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6177 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6179 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6180 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6181 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6182 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6183 as dormant, and don't worry.
6185 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6187 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6188 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6189 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6190 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6191 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6192 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6193 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6194 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6195 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6196 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6198 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6199 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6200 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6201 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6202 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6203 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6204 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6205 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6206 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6207 not then be downloaded by this command.
6209 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6210 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6211 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6212 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6213 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6214 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6216 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6217 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6218 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6219 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6220 variables, the group is not cached.
6222 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6223 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6224 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6225 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6226 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6227 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6228 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6229 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6230 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6234 @node Persistent Articles
6235 @section Persistent Articles
6236 @cindex persistent articles
6238 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6239 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6240 useful in my opinion.
6242 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6243 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6244 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6245 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6246 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6247 the expiry going on at the news server.
6249 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6250 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6251 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6257 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6258 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6261 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6263 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6264 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6268 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6270 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6271 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6272 interested in persistent articles:
6275 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6279 @node Article Backlog
6280 @section Article Backlog
6282 @cindex article backlog
6284 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6285 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6286 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6287 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6288 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6289 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6290 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6291 increase memory usage some.
6293 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6294 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6295 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6296 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6297 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6298 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6299 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6301 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6304 @node Saving Articles
6305 @section Saving Articles
6306 @cindex saving articles
6308 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6309 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6310 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6311 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6312 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6314 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6315 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6316 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6318 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6319 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6320 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6321 deleted before saving.
6327 @kindex O o (Summary)
6329 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6330 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6331 Save the current article using the default article saver
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6335 @kindex O m (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6337 Save the current article in mail format
6338 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6341 @kindex O r (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6343 Save the current article in rmail format
6344 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6347 @kindex O f (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6349 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6350 Save the current article in plain file format
6351 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6354 @kindex O F (Summary)
6355 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6356 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6357 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6360 @kindex O b (Summary)
6361 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6362 Save the current article body in plain file format
6363 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6366 @kindex O h (Summary)
6367 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6368 Save the current article in mh folder format
6369 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6372 @kindex O v (Summary)
6373 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6374 Save the current article in a VM folder
6375 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6378 @kindex O p (Summary)
6379 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6380 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6381 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6384 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6385 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6386 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6387 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6388 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6389 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6390 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6391 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6392 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6393 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6394 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6395 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6399 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6400 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6401 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6402 functions below, or you can create your own.
6406 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6407 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6408 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6409 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6410 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6411 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6412 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6414 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6415 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6416 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6417 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6418 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6419 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6421 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6422 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6423 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6424 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6425 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6426 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6427 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6429 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6430 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6431 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6432 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6433 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6435 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6436 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6437 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6438 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6439 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6442 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6443 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6444 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6445 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6446 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6448 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6449 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6450 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6451 reader to use this setting.
6454 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6455 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6456 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6457 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6460 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6461 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6462 available functions that generate names:
6466 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6467 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6468 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6470 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6471 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6472 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6474 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6475 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6476 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6478 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6479 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6480 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6483 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6484 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6485 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6486 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6487 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6491 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6492 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6493 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6494 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6497 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6498 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6499 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6500 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6501 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6502 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6503 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6504 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6505 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6507 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6508 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6509 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6510 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6512 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6513 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6514 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6517 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6518 lots of mail groups called things like
6519 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6520 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6521 following will do just that:
6524 (defun my-save-name (group)
6525 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6526 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6528 (setq gnus-split-methods
6529 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6534 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6535 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6536 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6537 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6538 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6539 all the files in the top level directory
6540 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6541 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6542 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6543 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6545 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6546 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6547 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6548 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6549 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6552 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6556 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6557 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6560 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6561 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6562 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6563 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6566 @node Decoding Articles
6567 @section Decoding Articles
6568 @cindex decoding articles
6570 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6571 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6574 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6575 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6576 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6577 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6578 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6579 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6583 @cindex article series
6584 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6585 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6586 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6587 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6588 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6590 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6591 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6592 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6594 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6595 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6596 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6598 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6599 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6600 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6603 @node Uuencoded Articles
6604 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6606 @cindex uuencoded articles
6611 @kindex X u (Summary)
6612 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6613 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6614 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6617 @kindex X U (Summary)
6618 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6619 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6620 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6623 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6624 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6625 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6628 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6630 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6631 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6635 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6636 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6637 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6638 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6639 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6641 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6642 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6643 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6644 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6647 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6648 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6649 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6650 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6651 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6652 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6656 @node Shell Archives
6657 @subsection Shell Archives
6659 @cindex shell archives
6660 @cindex shared articles
6662 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6663 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6664 some commands to deal with these:
6669 @kindex X s (Summary)
6670 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6671 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6674 @kindex X S (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6676 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6679 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6680 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6681 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6684 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6685 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6686 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6687 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6691 @node PostScript Files
6692 @subsection PostScript Files
6698 @kindex X p (Summary)
6699 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6700 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6703 @kindex X P (Summary)
6704 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6705 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6706 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6709 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6710 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6711 View the current PostScript series
6712 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6715 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6716 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6717 View and save the current PostScript series
6718 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6723 @subsection Other Files
6727 @kindex X o (Summary)
6728 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6729 Save the current series
6730 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6733 @kindex X b (Summary)
6734 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6735 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6736 doesn't really work yet.
6740 @node Decoding Variables
6741 @subsection Decoding Variables
6743 Adjective, not verb.
6746 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6747 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6748 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6752 @node Rule Variables
6753 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6754 @cindex rule variables
6756 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6757 variables are of the form
6760 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6767 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6768 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6770 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6771 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6774 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6775 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6778 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6779 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6780 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6781 user and default view rules.
6783 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6784 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6785 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6790 @node Other Decode Variables
6791 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6794 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6796 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6797 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6798 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6799 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6800 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6804 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6805 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6808 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6809 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6810 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6813 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6814 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6815 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6816 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6817 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6820 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6821 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6822 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6824 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6825 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6826 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6827 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6828 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6831 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6832 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6833 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6835 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6836 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6837 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6838 looking for files to display.
6840 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6841 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6842 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6845 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6846 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6847 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6850 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6851 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6852 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6855 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6856 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6857 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6860 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6861 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6862 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6863 decoded articles as unread.
6865 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6866 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6867 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6868 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6870 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6871 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6872 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6874 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6875 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6877 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6878 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6879 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6880 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6882 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6883 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6884 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6885 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6886 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6887 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6888 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6889 simply dropped them.
6894 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6895 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6899 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6900 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6901 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6902 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6903 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6904 for you when you post the article.
6906 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6907 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6908 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6909 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6911 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6912 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6913 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6914 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6915 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6916 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6917 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6919 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6920 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6921 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6922 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6923 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6924 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6925 Default is @code{t}.
6931 @subsection Viewing Files
6932 @cindex viewing files
6933 @cindex pseudo-articles
6935 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6936 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6937 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6938 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6939 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6940 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6941 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6943 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6944 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6945 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6946 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6948 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6949 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6950 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6952 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6953 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6954 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6955 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6956 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6958 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6959 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6960 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6961 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6962 a list of parameters to that command.
6964 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6965 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6966 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6968 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6969 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6970 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6973 @node Article Treatment
6974 @section Article Treatment
6976 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6977 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6978 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6979 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6980 these articles easier.
6983 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6984 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6985 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6986 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6987 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6988 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6989 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6990 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6994 @node Article Highlighting
6995 @subsection Article Highlighting
6996 @cindex highlighting
6998 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6999 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7004 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7005 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7006 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7007 Do much highlighting of the current article
7008 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7009 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7012 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7013 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7014 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7015 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7016 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7017 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7018 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7019 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7020 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7021 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7022 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7023 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7026 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7027 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7028 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7030 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7033 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7035 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7036 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7037 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7039 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7040 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7041 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7043 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7044 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7045 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7046 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7047 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7048 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7050 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7051 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7052 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7054 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7055 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7056 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7058 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7059 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7060 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7061 that it's a citation.
7063 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7064 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7065 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7067 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7068 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7069 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7071 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7072 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7073 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7074 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7080 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7081 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7082 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7083 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7084 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7085 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7086 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7087 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7092 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7095 @node Article Fontisizing
7096 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7098 @cindex article emphasis
7100 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7101 @kindex W e (Summary)
7102 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7103 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7104 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7105 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7107 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7108 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7109 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7110 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7111 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7112 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7113 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7114 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7118 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7119 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7120 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7129 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7130 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7131 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7132 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7133 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7134 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7135 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7136 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7137 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7138 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7139 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7140 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7141 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7143 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7144 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7145 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7149 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7152 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7154 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7155 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7156 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7157 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7159 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7162 @node Article Hiding
7163 @subsection Article Hiding
7164 @cindex article hiding
7166 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7167 too much cruft in most articles.
7172 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7173 @findex gnus-article-hide
7174 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7175 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7176 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7179 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7181 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7185 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7186 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7187 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7188 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7191 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7192 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7193 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7197 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7198 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7199 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7200 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7201 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7202 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7203 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7204 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7208 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7209 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7210 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7211 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7216 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7217 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7218 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7219 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7220 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7221 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7222 articles that have signatures in them do:
7224 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7226 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7228 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7229 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7231 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7234 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7239 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7241 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7242 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7245 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7246 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7249 @cindex stripping advertisements
7250 @cindex advertisements
7251 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7252 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7253 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7254 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7255 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7256 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7257 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7258 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7259 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7260 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7264 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7265 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7266 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7267 customizing the hiding:
7271 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7272 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7273 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7274 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7275 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7276 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7277 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7282 Starting point of the hidden text.
7284 Ending point of the hidden text.
7286 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7288 Number of lines of hidden text.
7291 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7292 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7293 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7294 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7295 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7300 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7303 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7304 following two variables:
7307 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7308 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7309 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7310 50), hide the cited text.
7312 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7313 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7314 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7319 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7320 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7321 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7322 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7323 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7324 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7328 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7329 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7330 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7332 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7333 citation customization.
7335 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7339 @node Article Washing
7340 @subsection Article Washing
7342 @cindex article washing
7344 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7345 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7347 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7348 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7351 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7352 articles by default.
7357 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7358 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7362 @kindex W l (Summary)
7363 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7364 Remove page breaks from the current article
7365 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7369 @kindex W r (Summary)
7370 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7371 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7372 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7373 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7374 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7375 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7377 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7378 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7379 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7380 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7384 @kindex W t (Summary)
7386 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7387 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7388 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7391 @kindex W v (Summary)
7392 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7393 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7394 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7397 @kindex W o (Summary)
7398 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7399 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7402 @kindex W d (Summary)
7403 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7404 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7406 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7408 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7409 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7410 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7411 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7414 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7415 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7416 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7417 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7420 @kindex W w (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7422 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7424 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7428 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7430 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7433 @kindex W C (Summary)
7434 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7435 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7436 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7439 @kindex W c (Summary)
7440 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7441 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7442 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7443 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7444 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7447 @kindex W q (Summary)
7448 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7449 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7450 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7451 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7452 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7453 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7454 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7455 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7458 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7460 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7461 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7462 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7463 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7464 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7468 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7469 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7470 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7471 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7472 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7475 @kindex W h (Summary)
7476 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7477 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7478 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7479 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7483 @kindex W f (Summary)
7485 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7486 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7487 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7488 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7495 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7496 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7497 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7498 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7499 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7500 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7501 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7502 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7503 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7504 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7505 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7506 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7507 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7508 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7509 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7510 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7511 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7512 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7513 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7514 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7518 @kindex W b (Summary)
7519 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7520 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7521 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7524 @kindex W B (Summary)
7525 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7526 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7527 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7530 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7531 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7532 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7533 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7536 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7537 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7538 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7539 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7542 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7543 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7544 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7545 lines with a single empty line.
7546 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7549 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7550 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7551 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7552 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7555 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7556 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7557 Do all the three commands above
7558 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7561 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7562 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7563 Remove all blank lines
7564 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7567 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7568 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7569 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7570 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7573 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7574 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7575 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7576 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7580 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7583 @node Article Buttons
7584 @subsection Article Buttons
7587 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7588 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7589 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7590 button on these references.
7592 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7593 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7594 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7599 @item gnus-button-alist
7600 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7601 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7604 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7610 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7611 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7612 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7615 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7616 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7617 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7620 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7621 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7622 avoid false matches.
7625 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7628 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7629 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7633 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7636 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7639 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7640 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7641 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7642 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7643 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7646 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7649 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7651 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7652 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7653 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7654 default values of the variables above.
7656 @item gnus-article-button-face
7657 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7658 Face used on buttons.
7660 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7661 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7662 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7666 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7670 @subsection Article Date
7672 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7673 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7674 when the article was sent.
7679 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7680 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7681 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7682 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7685 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7686 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7688 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7689 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7692 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7693 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7694 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7697 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7698 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7699 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
7700 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
7703 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7704 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7705 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7706 @findex format-time-string
7707 Display the date using a user-defined format
7708 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7709 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7710 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7711 for a list of possible format specs.
7714 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7716 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7717 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7718 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7719 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7722 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7725 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7726 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7729 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7730 into wonderful absurdities.
7732 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7735 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7738 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7739 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7743 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7744 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7745 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7746 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7747 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7748 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7749 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7753 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7754 preferred format automatically.
7757 @node Article Signature
7758 @subsection Article Signature
7760 @cindex article signature
7762 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7763 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7764 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7765 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7766 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7767 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7768 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7769 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7770 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7773 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7774 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7775 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7776 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7777 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7778 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7779 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7780 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7783 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7786 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7787 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7788 signature when displaying articles.
7792 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7795 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7798 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7799 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7801 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7802 in question is not a signature.
7805 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7806 listed above. Here's an example:
7809 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7810 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7813 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7814 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7815 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7816 signature after all.
7819 @node Article Miscellania
7820 @subsection Article Miscellania
7824 @kindex A t (Summary)
7825 @findex gnus-article-babel
7826 Translate the article from one language to another
7827 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7833 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7834 @cindex MIME decoding
7836 @cindex viewing attachments
7838 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7839 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7845 @kindex K v (Summary)
7846 View the @sc{mime} part.
7849 @kindex K o (Summary)
7850 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7853 @kindex K c (Summary)
7854 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7857 @kindex K e (Summary)
7858 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7861 @kindex K i (Summary)
7862 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7865 @kindex K | (Summary)
7866 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7869 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7874 @kindex K b (Summary)
7875 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7876 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7880 @kindex K m (Summary)
7881 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7882 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7883 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7884 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7885 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7888 @kindex X m (Summary)
7889 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7890 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7891 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7892 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7895 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7896 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7897 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7898 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7901 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7902 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7903 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7906 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7907 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7908 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7910 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7911 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7912 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7913 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7914 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7915 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7918 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7919 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7920 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7927 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7928 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7929 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7930 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7933 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7936 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7940 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7941 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7942 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7943 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7944 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7946 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7947 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7948 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7949 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7950 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7951 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7952 save all jpegs into some directory).
7954 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7957 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7958 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7960 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7961 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7962 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7963 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7964 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7967 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7968 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7969 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7978 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7979 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7980 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7981 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7982 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7983 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7984 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7986 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7987 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7988 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7989 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7991 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7992 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7993 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7994 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7995 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7996 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7997 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7998 something some agents insist on having in there.
8000 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8001 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8002 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8003 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8004 quoted-printable header encoding.
8006 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8007 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8008 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8012 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8015 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8016 means encode all charsets),
8018 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8019 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8020 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8027 @cindex coding system aliases
8028 @cindex preferred charset
8030 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8032 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8033 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8036 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8037 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8040 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8041 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8043 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8046 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8049 This will almost do the right thing.
8051 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8055 (codepage-setup 1251)
8056 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8060 @node Article Commands
8061 @section Article Commands
8068 @kindex A P (Summary)
8069 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8070 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8071 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8072 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8073 run just before printing the buffer.
8078 @node Summary Sorting
8079 @section Summary Sorting
8080 @cindex summary sorting
8082 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8083 can't really see why you'd want that.
8088 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8089 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8090 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8093 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8094 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8095 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8098 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8099 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8100 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8103 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8104 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8105 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8108 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8109 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8110 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8113 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8114 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8115 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8118 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8119 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8120 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8123 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8124 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8125 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8126 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8127 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8131 @node Finding the Parent
8132 @section Finding the Parent
8133 @cindex parent articles
8134 @cindex referring articles
8139 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8140 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8141 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8142 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8143 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8144 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8145 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8146 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8147 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8149 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8150 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8151 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8152 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8153 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8157 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8158 @kindex A R (Summary)
8159 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8160 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8163 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8164 @kindex A T (Summary)
8165 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8166 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8167 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8168 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8169 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8170 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8171 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8173 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8174 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8175 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8176 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8177 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8178 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8181 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8182 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8184 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8185 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8186 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8187 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8188 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8189 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8190 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8193 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8194 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8195 by giving this command a prefix.
8197 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8198 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8199 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8200 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8201 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8202 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8205 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8206 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8207 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8210 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8211 then ask Deja if that fails:
8214 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8216 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8219 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8220 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8221 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8222 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8223 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8224 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8227 @node Alternative Approaches
8228 @section Alternative Approaches
8230 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8231 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8234 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8235 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8240 @subsection Pick and Read
8241 @cindex pick and read
8243 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8244 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8245 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8246 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8248 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8249 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8250 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8251 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8252 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8253 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8255 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8260 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8261 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8262 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8263 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8264 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8265 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8266 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8267 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8270 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8271 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8272 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8273 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8277 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8278 Unpick the thread or article
8279 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8280 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8281 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8282 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8283 the thread or article at that line.
8287 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8288 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8289 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8290 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8291 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8292 will still be visible when you are reading.
8296 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8297 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8298 which is mapped to the same function
8299 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8301 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8304 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8307 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8308 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8310 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8311 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8312 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8314 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8315 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8316 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8317 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8318 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8319 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8320 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8324 @subsection Binary Groups
8325 @cindex binary groups
8327 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8328 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8329 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8330 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8331 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8332 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8333 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8336 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8337 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8338 command, when you have turned on this mode
8339 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8341 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8342 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8346 @section Tree Display
8349 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8350 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8351 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8352 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8355 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8358 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8359 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8360 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8362 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8363 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8364 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8365 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8366 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8368 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8369 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8370 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8371 default is @code{modeline}.
8373 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8374 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8375 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8376 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8377 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8378 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8379 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8385 The name of the poster.
8387 The @code{From} header.
8389 The number of the article.
8391 The opening bracket.
8393 The closing bracket.
8398 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8400 Variables related to the display are:
8403 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8404 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8405 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8406 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8407 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8408 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8410 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8411 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8412 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8413 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8417 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8418 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8419 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8420 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8421 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8422 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8423 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8424 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8425 other windows displayed next to it.
8427 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8428 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8429 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8430 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8431 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8432 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8433 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8437 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8440 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8450 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8454 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8455 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8457 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8459 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8464 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8465 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8466 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8469 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8470 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8471 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8472 (gnus-add-configuration
8476 (summary 0.75 point)
8481 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8484 @node Mail Group Commands
8485 @section Mail Group Commands
8486 @cindex mail group commands
8488 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8489 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8491 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8492 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8497 @kindex B e (Summary)
8498 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8499 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8500 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8503 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8504 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8505 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8506 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8507 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8508 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8511 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8512 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8513 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8514 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8515 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8516 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8519 @kindex B m (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8522 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8523 Move the article from one mail group to another
8524 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8525 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8528 @kindex B c (Summary)
8530 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8531 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8532 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8533 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8534 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8537 @kindex B B (Summary)
8538 @cindex crosspost mail
8539 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8540 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8541 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8542 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8543 be properly updated.
8546 @kindex B i (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8548 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8549 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8550 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8553 @kindex B r (Summary)
8554 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8555 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8556 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8557 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8558 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8559 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8560 (which is the default).
8564 @kindex B w (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8567 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8568 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8569 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8570 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8571 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8574 @kindex B q (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8576 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8577 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8578 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8581 @kindex B t (Summary)
8582 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8583 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8584 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8587 @kindex B p (Summary)
8588 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8589 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8590 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8591 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8592 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8593 article from your news server (or rather, from
8594 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8595 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8596 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8597 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8598 just not have arrived yet.
8602 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8603 @cindex moving articles
8604 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8605 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8606 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8607 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8608 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8609 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8610 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8613 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8614 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8615 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8616 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8620 @node Various Summary Stuff
8621 @section Various Summary Stuff
8624 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8625 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8626 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8627 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8631 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8632 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8633 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8635 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8636 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8637 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8638 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8639 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8640 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8643 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8644 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8645 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8646 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8647 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8649 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8650 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8651 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8654 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8655 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8656 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8657 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8658 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8659 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8660 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8661 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8662 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8663 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8665 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8666 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8667 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8668 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8669 list of articles to be selected.
8671 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8672 the list in one particular group:
8675 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8676 (if (string= group "some.group")
8677 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8684 @node Summary Group Information
8685 @subsection Summary Group Information
8690 @kindex H f (Summary)
8691 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8692 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8693 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8694 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8695 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8696 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8697 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8698 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8699 be used for fetching the file.
8702 @kindex H d (Summary)
8703 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8704 Give a brief description of the current group
8705 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8706 rereading the description from the server.
8709 @kindex H h (Summary)
8710 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8711 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8712 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8715 @kindex H i (Summary)
8716 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8717 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8721 @node Searching for Articles
8722 @subsection Searching for Articles
8727 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8728 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8729 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8730 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8733 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8734 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8735 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8736 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8740 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8741 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8742 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8743 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8744 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8745 search backward instead.
8747 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8748 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8751 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8752 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8753 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8754 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8757 @node Summary Generation Commands
8758 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8763 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8764 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8765 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8768 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8769 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8770 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8771 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8776 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8777 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8783 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8784 @kindex A D (Summary)
8785 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8786 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8787 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8788 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8789 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8790 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8791 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8792 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8796 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8797 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8798 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8799 several documents into one biiig group
8800 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8801 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8802 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8803 command understands the process/prefix convention
8804 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8807 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8808 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8809 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8810 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8811 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8812 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8816 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8817 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8818 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8821 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8822 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8823 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8824 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8827 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8829 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8830 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8835 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8836 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8837 @cindex summary exit
8838 @cindex exiting groups
8840 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8841 group and return you to the group buffer.
8847 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8849 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8850 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8851 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8852 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8853 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8854 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8855 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8856 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8857 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8858 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8859 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8863 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8865 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8866 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8867 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8871 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8873 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8874 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8875 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8876 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8879 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8880 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8881 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8882 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8885 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8886 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8887 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8888 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8891 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8892 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8893 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8894 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8895 all articles, both read and unread.
8899 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8900 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8901 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8902 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8903 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8904 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8905 articles, both read and unread.
8908 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8909 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8910 Exit the group and go to the next group
8911 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8914 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8915 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8916 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8917 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8920 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8921 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8922 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8923 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8924 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8925 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8928 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8929 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8930 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8931 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8933 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8934 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8935 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8936 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8937 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8938 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8939 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8940 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8941 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8942 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8943 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8944 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8946 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8948 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8949 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8950 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8951 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8952 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8953 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8954 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8955 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8956 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8959 @node Crosspost Handling
8960 @section Crosspost Handling
8964 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8965 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8966 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8967 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8968 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8969 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8972 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8973 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8974 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8975 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8976 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8978 @cindex cross-posting
8981 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8982 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8983 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8984 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8985 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8986 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8987 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8988 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8989 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8990 the cross reference mechanism.
8992 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8993 @cindex overview.fmt
8994 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8995 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8996 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8997 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8998 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8999 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9002 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9003 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9004 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9009 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9012 @node Duplicate Suppression
9013 @section Duplicate Suppression
9015 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9016 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9017 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9018 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9023 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9024 is evil and not very common.
9027 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9028 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9031 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9032 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9035 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9038 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9039 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9041 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9042 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9043 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9044 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9045 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9046 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9047 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9050 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9051 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9052 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9053 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9054 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9058 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9059 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9060 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9062 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9063 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9064 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9065 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9066 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9067 session are suppressed.
9069 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9070 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9071 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9072 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9074 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9075 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9076 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9077 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9080 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9081 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9082 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9083 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9084 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9085 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9086 to you to figure out, I think.
9091 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9096 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9102 @item mm-verify-option
9103 @vindex mm-verify-option
9104 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9105 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9106 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9108 @item mm-decrypt-option
9109 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9110 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9111 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9112 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9116 @node The Article Buffer
9117 @chapter The Article Buffer
9118 @cindex article buffer
9120 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9121 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9122 tell Gnus otherwise.
9125 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9126 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9127 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9128 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9129 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9133 @node Hiding Headers
9134 @section Hiding Headers
9135 @cindex hiding headers
9136 @cindex deleting headers
9138 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9139 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9141 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9142 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9143 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9144 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9145 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9146 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9147 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9148 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9149 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9151 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9155 @item gnus-visible-headers
9156 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9157 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9158 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9159 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9161 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9162 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9165 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9168 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9171 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9172 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9173 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9174 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9175 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9176 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9178 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9179 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9182 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9185 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9188 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9189 variable will have no effect.
9193 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9194 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9195 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9196 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9197 the headers are to be displayed.
9199 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9200 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9203 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9206 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9207 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9209 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9210 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9211 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9212 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9213 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9214 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9215 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9218 These conditions are:
9221 Remove all empty headers.
9223 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9224 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9226 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9229 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9232 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9235 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9237 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9240 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9243 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9244 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9247 This is also the default value for this variable.
9251 @section Using @sc{mime}
9254 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9255 while people stand around yawning.
9257 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9258 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9260 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9261 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9262 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9264 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9265 @findex gnus-display-mime
9266 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9267 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9268 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9269 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9271 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9275 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9277 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9278 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9279 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9281 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9282 @item M-RET (Article)
9284 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9285 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9287 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9289 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9290 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9292 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9294 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9295 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9297 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9299 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9300 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9302 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9304 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9306 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9308 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9309 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9310 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9311 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9312 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9315 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9317 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9318 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9322 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9323 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9326 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9327 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9328 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9329 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9330 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9331 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9332 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9333 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9334 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9336 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9338 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9341 @node Customizing Articles
9342 @section Customizing Articles
9343 @cindex article customization
9345 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9346 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9347 called automatically when you select the articles.
9349 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9350 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9351 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9352 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9354 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9355 for sensible values.
9359 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9362 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9365 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9368 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9371 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9375 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9376 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9377 regexps in the list.
9380 A list where the first element is not a string:
9382 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9383 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9384 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9388 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9393 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9394 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9395 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9396 considered to contain just a single part.
9398 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9399 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9400 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9401 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9402 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9403 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9404 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9406 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9407 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9408 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9409 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9412 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9413 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9414 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9415 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9416 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9417 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9418 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9419 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9420 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9421 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9422 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9423 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9424 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9425 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9426 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9427 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9428 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9429 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9430 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9431 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9432 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9433 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9434 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9435 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9436 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9437 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9438 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9439 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9440 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9441 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9442 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9443 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9444 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9445 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9446 @item gnus-treat-translate
9449 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9450 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9451 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9452 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9453 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9457 @node Article Keymap
9458 @section Article Keymap
9460 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9461 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9462 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9463 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9466 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9471 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9472 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9473 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9476 @kindex DEL (Article)
9477 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9478 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9481 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9482 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9483 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9484 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9485 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9488 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9489 @findex gnus-article-mail
9490 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9491 given a prefix, include the mail.
9495 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9496 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9497 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9501 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9502 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9503 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9506 @kindex TAB (Article)
9507 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9508 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9509 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9512 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9513 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9514 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9520 @section Misc Article
9524 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9525 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9526 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9527 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9530 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9531 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9533 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9534 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9536 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9537 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9538 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9539 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9540 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9541 the contents of the article buffer.
9543 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9544 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9545 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9547 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9548 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9549 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9550 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9552 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9553 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9554 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9555 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9556 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9561 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9562 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9565 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9568 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9570 @item gnus-break-pages
9571 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9572 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9573 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9574 paging will not be done.
9576 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9577 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9578 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9583 @node Composing Messages
9584 @chapter Composing Messages
9585 @cindex composing messages
9588 @cindex sending mail
9594 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9595 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9596 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9597 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9598 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9599 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9602 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9603 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9604 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9605 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9606 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9607 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9608 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9609 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9612 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9613 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9619 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9622 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9623 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9624 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9625 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9627 @item gnus-add-to-list
9628 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9629 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9630 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9632 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9633 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9634 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9635 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9636 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9641 @node Posting Server
9642 @section Posting Server
9644 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9645 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9647 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9649 @vindex gnus-post-method
9651 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9652 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9653 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9654 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9655 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9658 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9661 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9662 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9663 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9664 the ``current'' server for posting.
9666 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9667 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9669 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9670 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9673 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9674 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9675 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9680 @section Mail and Post
9682 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9686 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9687 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9688 @cindex mailing lists
9690 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9691 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9692 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9693 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9694 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9695 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9696 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9697 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9698 still a pain, though.
9702 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9703 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9704 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9707 @findex ispell-message
9709 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9712 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9713 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9716 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9719 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9720 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9722 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9725 Modify to suit your needs.
9728 @node Archived Messages
9729 @section Archived Messages
9730 @cindex archived messages
9731 @cindex sent messages
9733 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9734 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9735 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9736 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9739 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9740 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9741 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9745 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9746 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9747 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9748 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9751 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9752 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
9753 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9754 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9757 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9758 '(nnfolder "archive"
9759 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9760 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9761 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9764 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9766 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9767 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9768 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9770 This variable can be used to do the following:
9774 Messages will be saved in that group.
9776 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9777 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9778 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9779 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9780 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9781 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9782 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9783 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9785 @item a list of strings
9786 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9787 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9788 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9790 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9795 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9797 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9800 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9802 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9805 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9807 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9808 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9809 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9810 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9815 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9816 '((if (message-news-p)
9821 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9822 messages in one file per month:
9825 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9826 '((if (message-news-p)
9828 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9831 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9832 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9834 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9835 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9836 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9837 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9838 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9839 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9840 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9841 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9842 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9843 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9845 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9846 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9847 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9848 this will disable archiving.
9851 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9852 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9853 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9854 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9855 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9858 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9859 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9860 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9863 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9864 but the latter is the preferred method.
9866 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9867 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9868 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
9873 @node Posting Styles
9874 @section Posting Styles
9875 @cindex posting styles
9878 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9880 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9881 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9882 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9885 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9886 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9887 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9888 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9889 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9894 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9895 (organization "What me?"))
9897 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9898 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9899 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9902 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9903 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9904 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9905 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9906 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9907 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9908 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9909 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9911 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9912 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9913 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9914 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9915 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9916 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9917 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9918 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9921 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9922 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9923 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9924 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9925 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9926 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9927 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9928 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9929 result is thrown away.
9931 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9932 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9933 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9934 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9935 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9936 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9938 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9939 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9940 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9942 @findex message-mail-p
9943 @findex message-news-p
9945 So here's a new example:
9948 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9950 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9952 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9953 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9955 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9956 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9957 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9959 (signature my-news-signature))
9960 (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
9961 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9962 ((posting-from-work-p)
9963 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9964 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9965 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9966 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9968 (From (save-excursion
9969 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
9970 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
9972 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9975 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
9976 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
9977 if you fill many roles.
9984 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9985 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9986 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9987 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9988 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9990 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9991 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9992 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9993 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9994 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9998 @vindex nndraft-directory
9999 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10000 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10001 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10002 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10003 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10004 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10006 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10007 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10010 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10011 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10012 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10013 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10014 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10015 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10016 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10017 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10018 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10019 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10020 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10021 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10022 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10023 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10025 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10026 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10027 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10029 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10030 @kindex D e (Draft)
10031 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10032 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10033 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10035 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10038 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10039 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10040 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10041 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10042 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10043 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10044 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10047 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10048 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10049 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10052 @node Rejected Articles
10053 @section Rejected Articles
10054 @cindex rejected articles
10056 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10057 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10058 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10059 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10061 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10062 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10063 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10064 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10065 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10067 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10068 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10069 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10075 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el} and
10076 @file{mml2015.el}. When viewing signed or encrypted messages, Gnus automatically
10077 asks if you want to verify or decrypt them.
10079 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10080 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10083 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10084 (setq gpg-temp-directory "~/.gnupg/tmp")
10087 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10088 to 700, for your own safety.
10090 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10091 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10095 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10098 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10099 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10102 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10105 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security menu or
10106 @kbd{M-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{M-m s s} to sign your
10107 message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{M-m c p} to encrypt your message with
10108 PGP/MIME and @kbd{M-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME.
10110 Gnus will ask for your passphrase three times and then it will send your
10111 message, if you've typed it correctly.
10114 @node Select Methods
10115 @chapter Select Methods
10116 @cindex foreign groups
10117 @cindex select methods
10119 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10120 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10121 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10122 personal mail group.
10124 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10125 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10126 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10127 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10128 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10129 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10131 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10132 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
10134 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10137 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10138 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10139 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10140 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10141 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10143 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10146 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10147 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10148 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10149 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10150 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10151 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10152 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10156 @node The Server Buffer
10157 @section The Server Buffer
10159 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10160 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10161 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10162 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10163 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10164 backend represents a virtual server.
10166 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10167 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10168 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10169 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10171 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10172 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10173 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10174 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10175 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10176 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10177 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10179 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10180 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10183 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10184 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10185 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10186 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10187 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10188 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10189 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10192 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10193 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10196 @node Server Buffer Format
10197 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10198 @cindex server buffer format
10200 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10201 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10202 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10203 variable, with some simple extensions:
10208 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10211 The name of this server.
10214 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10217 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10220 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10221 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10222 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10223 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10233 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10236 @node Server Commands
10237 @subsection Server Commands
10238 @cindex server commands
10244 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10245 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10249 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10250 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10253 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10254 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10255 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10259 @findex gnus-server-exit
10260 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10264 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10265 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10269 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10270 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10274 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10275 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10279 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10280 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10284 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10285 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10286 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10291 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10292 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10293 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10294 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10299 @node Example Methods
10300 @subsection Example Methods
10302 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10305 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10308 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10314 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10315 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10318 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10319 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10321 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10322 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10326 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10329 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10330 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10332 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10333 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10334 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10338 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10341 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10344 Here's the method for a public spool:
10348 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10349 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10355 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10356 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10357 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10358 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10359 should probably look something like this:
10363 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10364 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10365 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10366 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10367 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10370 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10371 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10372 server that would look something like this:
10376 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10377 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10378 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10379 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10380 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10381 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10384 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10385 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10386 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10387 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10390 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10391 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10393 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10394 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10396 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10397 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10398 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10400 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10402 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10403 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10404 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10405 will contain the following:
10415 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10416 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10417 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10420 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10421 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10422 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10425 @node Server Variables
10426 @subsection Server Variables
10428 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10429 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10430 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10431 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10432 won't change the "derived" variables.
10434 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10435 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10436 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10437 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10438 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10439 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10440 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10441 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10442 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10446 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10447 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10448 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10452 @node Servers and Methods
10453 @subsection Servers and Methods
10455 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10456 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10457 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10458 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10462 @node Unavailable Servers
10463 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10465 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10466 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10467 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10468 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10469 actually the case or not.
10471 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10472 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10473 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10474 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10475 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10476 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10477 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10478 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10480 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10481 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10483 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10484 with the following commands:
10490 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10491 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10492 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10496 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10497 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10498 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10502 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10503 Mark the current server as unreachable
10504 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10507 @kindex M-o (Server)
10508 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10509 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10510 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10513 @kindex M-c (Server)
10514 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10515 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10516 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10520 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10521 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10522 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10528 @section Getting News
10529 @cindex reading news
10530 @cindex news backends
10532 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10533 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10534 or it can read from a local spool.
10537 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10538 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10543 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10546 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10547 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10548 server as the, uhm, address.
10550 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10551 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10552 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10553 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10555 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10556 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10557 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10559 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10564 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10565 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10566 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10568 @cindex authentification
10569 @cindex nntp authentification
10570 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10571 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10572 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10573 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10574 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10575 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10576 present in this hook.
10578 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10579 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10580 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10581 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10582 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10583 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10584 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10585 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10586 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10587 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10588 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10589 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10593 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10596 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10598 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10599 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
10600 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10601 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10602 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10603 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
10604 @samp{force} is explained below.
10608 Here's an example file:
10611 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10612 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10615 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10616 have to be first, for instance.
10618 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10619 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10620 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10621 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10622 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10623 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10624 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10626 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10627 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10633 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10634 previously mentioned.
10636 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10638 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10639 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10640 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10641 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10642 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10645 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10646 '(("innd" (ding))))
10649 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10651 The default value is
10654 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10655 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10658 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10659 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10661 @item nntp-maximum-request
10662 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10663 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10664 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10665 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10666 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10667 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10668 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10670 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10671 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10672 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10673 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10674 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10675 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10676 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10677 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10678 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10679 no timeouts are done.
10681 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10682 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10683 @c @cindex PPP connections
10684 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10685 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10686 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10687 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10688 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10689 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10690 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10691 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10692 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10693 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10695 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10696 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10697 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10698 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10699 @c described above.
10701 @item nntp-server-hook
10702 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10703 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10706 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10707 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10708 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10709 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10710 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10711 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10712 functions are supplied:
10715 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10716 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10719 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10720 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10721 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10724 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10728 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10729 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10730 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10731 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10733 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10734 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10735 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10737 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10738 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10739 User name on the remote system.
10743 @item nntp-open-telnet
10744 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10745 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10747 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10750 @item nntp-telnet-command
10751 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10752 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10754 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10755 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10756 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10758 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10759 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10760 User name for log in on the remote system.
10762 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10763 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10764 Password to use when logging in.
10766 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10767 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10768 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10771 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10772 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10773 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10774 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10776 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10777 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10778 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10779 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10780 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10784 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10785 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10786 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10787 you must have SSLay installed
10788 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10789 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
10790 define a server as follows:
10793 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10795 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10797 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10798 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10799 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10800 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10805 @item nntp-end-of-line
10806 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10807 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10808 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10809 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10811 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10812 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10813 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10817 @vindex nntp-address
10818 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10820 @item nntp-port-number
10821 @vindex nntp-port-number
10822 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10825 @item nntp-buggy-select
10826 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10827 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10829 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10830 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10831 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10832 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10835 @item nntp-xover-commands
10836 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10839 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10840 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10844 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10845 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10846 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10847 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10848 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10849 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10850 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10851 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10852 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10853 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10854 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10856 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10857 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10858 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10860 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10861 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10862 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10863 server closes connection.
10865 @item nntp-record-commands
10866 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10867 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10868 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10869 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10870 that doesn't seem to work.
10876 @subsection News Spool
10880 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10881 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10882 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10885 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10886 anything else) as the address.
10888 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10889 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10890 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10891 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10895 @item nnspool-inews-program
10896 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10897 Program used to post an article.
10899 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10900 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10901 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10903 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10904 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10905 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10906 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10908 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10909 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10910 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10911 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10913 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10914 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10915 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10917 @item nnspool-active-file
10918 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10919 The path to the active file.
10921 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10922 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10923 The path to the group descriptions file.
10925 @item nnspool-history-file
10926 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10927 The path to the news history file.
10929 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10930 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10931 The path to the active date file.
10933 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10934 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10935 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10938 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10939 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10941 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10942 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10943 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10949 @section Getting Mail
10950 @cindex reading mail
10953 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10957 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10958 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10959 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10960 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10961 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10962 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10963 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10964 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10965 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10966 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10967 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10968 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10969 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10973 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10974 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10976 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10977 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10978 of a culture shock.
10980 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10981 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10983 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10984 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10985 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10986 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10988 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10990 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10991 deleted? How awful!
10993 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10994 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10995 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10996 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10999 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11000 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11001 they want to treat a message.
11003 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11004 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11005 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11006 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11007 archived somewhere else.
11009 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11010 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11011 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11012 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11013 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11015 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11016 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11017 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11019 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11020 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11023 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11024 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11025 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11026 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11027 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11029 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11030 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11031 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11032 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11033 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11034 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11038 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11039 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11041 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11042 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11043 and things will happen automatically.
11045 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11046 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11049 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11050 '((nnml "private")))
11053 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11054 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11055 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11056 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11057 like any other group.
11059 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11062 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11063 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11064 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11068 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11069 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11070 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11073 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11074 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11075 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11078 @node Splitting Mail
11079 @subsection Splitting Mail
11080 @cindex splitting mail
11081 @cindex mail splitting
11083 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11084 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11085 to be split into groups.
11088 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11089 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11090 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11091 ("mail.other" "")))
11094 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11095 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11096 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11097 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11098 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11099 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11100 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11103 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11106 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11107 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11108 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11109 mail belongs in that group.
11111 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11112 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11113 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11114 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11115 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11116 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11118 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11119 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11120 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11121 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11122 thinks should carry this mail message.
11124 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11125 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11126 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11127 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11129 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11130 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11131 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11132 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11133 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11135 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11138 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11139 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11140 links. If that's the case for you, set
11141 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11142 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11144 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11145 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11146 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11147 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11148 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11149 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11152 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11153 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11154 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11155 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11156 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11157 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11158 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11159 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11160 month's rent money.
11164 @subsection Mail Sources
11166 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11167 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11171 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11172 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11173 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11177 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11178 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11180 @cindex mail server
11183 @cindex mail source
11185 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11186 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11191 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11194 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11195 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11196 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11199 The following mail source types are available:
11203 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11209 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11210 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11213 An example file mail source:
11216 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11219 Or using the default path:
11225 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11226 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11227 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11230 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11234 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11237 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11241 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11244 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11246 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11249 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11253 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11254 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11255 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11256 scan the mail source only once.
11262 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11266 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11270 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11271 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11272 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11273 predicate are considered.
11277 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11281 An example directory mail source:
11284 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11289 Get mail from a POP server.
11295 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11296 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11299 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11300 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11301 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11302 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11303 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11306 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11310 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11314 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11315 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11318 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11321 The valid format specifier characters are:
11325 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11326 included in this string.
11329 The name of the server.
11332 The port number of the server.
11335 The user name to use.
11338 The password to use.
11341 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11342 corresponding keywords.
11345 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11346 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11349 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11350 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11353 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11354 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11357 @item :authentication
11358 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11359 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11364 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11365 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11367 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11368 default user name, and default fetcher:
11374 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11377 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11378 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11381 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11384 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11388 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11389 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11390 contains exactly one mail.
11396 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11397 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11400 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11401 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11403 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11404 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11405 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11408 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11409 from locking problems).
11413 Two example maildir mail sources:
11416 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11420 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11424 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11425 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11426 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11427 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11433 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11434 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11437 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11438 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11441 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11445 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11449 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11450 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11451 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11453 @item :authentication
11454 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11455 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11456 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11460 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11461 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11464 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11465 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11466 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11467 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11468 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11469 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11472 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11473 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11474 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11475 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11478 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11479 after finishing the fetch.
11483 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11486 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11490 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11491 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11493 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11496 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11497 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11499 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11505 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11506 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11509 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11513 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11517 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11518 folder after finishing the fetch.
11522 An example webmail source:
11525 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11530 @item Common Keywords
11531 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11537 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11538 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11542 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11547 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11548 useful when you use local mail and news.
11553 @subsubsection Function Interface
11555 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11556 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11557 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11558 consider the following mail-source setting:
11561 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11562 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11565 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11566 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11567 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11568 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11569 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11571 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11574 @node Mail Source Customization
11575 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11577 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11578 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11582 @item mail-source-crash-box
11583 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11584 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11585 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11587 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11588 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11589 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11591 @item mail-source-directory
11592 @vindex mail-source-directory
11593 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11594 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11595 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11598 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11599 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11600 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11601 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11602 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11603 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11605 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11606 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11607 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11612 @node Fetching Mail
11613 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11615 @vindex mail-sources
11616 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11617 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11618 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11619 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11621 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11622 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11625 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11626 mail server, you'd say something like:
11631 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11632 :password "secret")))
11635 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11639 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11640 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11643 :password "secret")))
11647 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11648 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11649 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11650 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11651 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11652 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11656 @node Mail Backend Variables
11657 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11659 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11663 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11664 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11665 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11666 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11668 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11669 @item nnmail-split-hook
11670 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11671 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11672 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11673 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11674 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11675 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11676 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11677 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11678 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11681 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11682 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11683 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11684 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11685 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11686 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11687 starting to handle the new mail) and
11688 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11689 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11690 default file modes the new mail files get:
11693 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11694 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11696 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11697 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11700 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11701 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11702 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11703 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11704 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11705 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11706 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11708 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11709 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11710 @findex delete-file
11711 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11713 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11714 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11715 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11716 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11717 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11722 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11723 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11724 @cindex mail splitting
11725 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11727 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11728 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11729 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11730 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11731 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11732 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11734 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11737 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11738 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11739 ;; from real errors.
11740 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11742 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11743 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11744 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11745 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11746 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11747 ;; Other mailing lists...
11748 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11749 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11750 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11751 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11752 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11753 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11754 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11755 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11757 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11758 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11762 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11763 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11764 the five possible split syntaxes:
11769 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11770 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11774 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11775 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11776 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11777 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11778 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11779 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11780 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11781 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11784 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11785 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11786 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11787 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11790 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11791 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11794 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11795 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11798 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11799 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11800 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11801 function should return a @var{split}.
11803 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11804 body of the messages:
11807 (defun split-on-body ()
11809 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11810 (goto-char (point-min))
11811 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11816 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11817 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11818 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11822 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11826 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11827 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11828 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11829 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11830 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11832 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11833 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11834 are expanded as specified by the variable
11835 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11836 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11839 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11840 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11841 when all this splitting is performed.
11843 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11844 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11845 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11848 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11851 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11852 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11854 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11855 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11856 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11857 groupings 1 through 9.
11859 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
11860 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
11861 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
11862 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
11863 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
11864 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
11865 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
11866 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
11867 it once per thread.
11869 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
11870 non-nil value. And then you can include
11871 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
11873 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11874 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
11875 ;; other splits go here
11879 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
11880 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
11881 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
11882 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
11883 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
11884 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
11885 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
11886 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
11887 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
11888 is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
11889 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
11890 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
11892 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11893 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
11894 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
11895 messages goes into the new group.
11898 @node Group Mail Splitting
11899 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11900 @cindex mail splitting
11901 @cindex group mail splitting
11903 @findex gnus-group-split
11904 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11905 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11906 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11907 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11908 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11909 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11910 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11911 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11913 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11914 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11915 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11916 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11918 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11919 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11920 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11921 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11922 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11923 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11924 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11926 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11927 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11928 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11929 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11930 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11931 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11932 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11934 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11935 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11936 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11937 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11938 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11939 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11940 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
11941 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
11942 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
11943 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
11944 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
11945 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
11946 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
11948 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11953 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11954 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11956 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11957 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11958 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11959 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11961 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11964 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11965 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11966 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11969 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11970 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11971 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11975 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11976 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11977 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11981 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11984 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11985 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11986 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11987 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
11988 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
11989 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11990 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11991 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11992 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11994 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11995 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11996 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11997 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11998 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11999 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12000 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12001 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12002 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12004 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12005 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12006 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12007 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12008 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12009 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12012 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12015 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12016 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12017 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12018 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12019 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12022 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12023 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12024 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12025 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12027 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12028 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12030 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12031 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12032 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12035 Doing so can be quite easy.
12037 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12038 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12039 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12040 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12041 your @code{nnml} groups.
12047 Go to the group buffer.
12050 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12051 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12054 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12057 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12058 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12061 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12062 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12065 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12066 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12067 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12068 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12069 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12071 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12072 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12073 using the new mail backend.
12076 @node Expiring Mail
12077 @subsection Expiring Mail
12078 @cindex article expiry
12080 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12081 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12082 different approach to mail reading.
12084 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12085 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12086 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12087 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12088 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12089 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12092 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12093 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12094 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12095 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12096 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12097 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12098 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12099 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12101 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12102 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12103 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12104 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12105 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12106 column in the summary buffer.
12108 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12109 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12110 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12111 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12114 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12116 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12117 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12118 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12121 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12122 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12123 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12124 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12125 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12127 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12128 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12131 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12132 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12135 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12136 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12138 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12139 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12140 don't really mix very well.
12142 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12143 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12144 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12145 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12148 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12149 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12150 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12151 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12154 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12156 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12158 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12160 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12162 ((string= group "important")
12168 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12169 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12171 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12172 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12173 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12176 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12177 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12179 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12180 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12181 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12182 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12183 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12184 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12185 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12186 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12187 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12188 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12189 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12190 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12193 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12195 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12199 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12200 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12201 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12202 easier for procmail users.
12204 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12205 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12206 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12207 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12208 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12209 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12210 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12211 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12212 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12213 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12214 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12215 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12216 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12219 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12221 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12222 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12223 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12224 auto-expire turned on.
12228 @subsection Washing Mail
12229 @cindex mail washing
12230 @cindex list server brain damage
12231 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12233 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12234 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12235 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12236 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12237 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12238 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12240 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12241 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12242 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12245 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12246 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12247 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12248 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12251 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12252 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12253 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12254 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12255 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12258 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12259 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12260 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12261 Emacs running on MS machines.
12265 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12266 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12267 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12268 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12271 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12272 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12273 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12274 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12276 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12277 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12278 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12279 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12280 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12281 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12282 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12285 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12286 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12289 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12290 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12293 This can also be done non-destructively with
12294 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12296 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12297 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12298 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12300 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12301 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12303 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12304 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12305 @code{References} headers.
12309 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12310 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12311 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12315 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12316 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12317 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12324 @subsection Duplicates
12326 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12327 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12328 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12329 @cindex duplicate mails
12330 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12331 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12332 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12333 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12334 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12335 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12336 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12337 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12338 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12339 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12340 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12341 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12342 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12344 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12345 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12346 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12347 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12349 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12352 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12353 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12357 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12358 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12359 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12360 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12361 (any mail "mail.misc")
12368 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12369 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12374 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12375 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12376 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12377 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12378 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12381 @node Not Reading Mail
12382 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12384 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12385 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12386 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12388 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12389 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12390 mail, which should help.
12392 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12393 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12394 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12395 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12396 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12397 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12398 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12399 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12400 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12401 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12402 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12404 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12405 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12409 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12410 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12412 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12413 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12414 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12416 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12417 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12418 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12419 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12422 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12423 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12424 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12425 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12426 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12427 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12431 @node Unix Mail Box
12432 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12434 @cindex unix mail box
12436 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12437 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12438 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12439 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12440 which group it belongs in.
12442 Virtual server settings:
12445 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12446 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12447 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12449 @item nnmbox-active-file
12450 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12451 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12453 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12454 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12455 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12461 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12465 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12466 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12467 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12468 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12469 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12471 Virtual server settings:
12474 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12475 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12476 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12478 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12479 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12480 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12482 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12483 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12484 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12489 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12491 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12493 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12494 format. It should be used with some caution.
12496 @vindex nnml-directory
12497 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12498 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12499 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12500 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12502 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12505 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12506 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12507 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12508 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12509 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12510 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12511 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12512 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12514 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12515 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12516 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12517 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12519 Virtual server settings:
12522 @item nnml-directory
12523 @vindex nnml-directory
12524 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12526 @item nnml-active-file
12527 @vindex nnml-active-file
12528 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12530 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12531 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12532 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12535 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12536 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12537 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12539 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12540 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12541 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12543 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12544 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12545 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12547 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12548 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12549 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12553 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12554 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12555 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12556 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12557 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12558 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12559 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12564 @subsubsection MH Spool
12566 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12568 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12569 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12570 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12571 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12573 Virtual server settings:
12576 @item nnmh-directory
12577 @vindex nnmh-directory
12578 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12580 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12581 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12582 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12585 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12586 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12587 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12588 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12589 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12590 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12591 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12596 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12598 @cindex mbox folders
12599 @cindex mail folders
12601 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12602 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12603 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12606 Virtual server settings:
12609 @item nnfolder-directory
12610 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12611 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12613 @item nnfolder-active-file
12614 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12615 The name of the active file.
12617 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12618 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12619 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12621 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12622 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12623 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12625 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12626 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12627 @cindex backup files
12628 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12629 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12630 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12631 your @file{.emacs} file:
12634 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12635 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12637 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12640 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12641 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12642 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12643 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12644 extract some information from it before removing it.
12646 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12647 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12648 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12653 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12654 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12655 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12656 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12657 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12658 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12661 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12662 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12664 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12665 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12666 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12667 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12668 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12670 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12671 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12672 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12673 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12674 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12675 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12676 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12677 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12680 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12681 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12682 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12683 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12688 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12689 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12690 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12691 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12692 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12693 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12694 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12695 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12696 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12697 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12698 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12699 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12700 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12705 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12706 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12707 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12708 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12709 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12710 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12711 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12712 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12713 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12714 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12715 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12716 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12717 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12718 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12720 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12721 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12726 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12727 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12728 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12729 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12730 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12731 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12732 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12733 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12734 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12735 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12736 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12737 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12738 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12739 provided by the active file and overviews.
12741 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12742 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12743 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12744 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12745 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12748 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12749 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12754 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12755 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12756 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12757 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12758 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12759 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12760 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12764 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12765 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12766 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12767 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12768 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12769 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12770 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12771 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12772 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12774 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12775 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12776 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12777 friendly mail backend all over.
12782 @node Browsing the Web
12783 @section Browsing the Web
12785 @cindex browsing the web
12789 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12790 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12791 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12792 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12793 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12794 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12795 even know what a news group is.
12797 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12798 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12799 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12800 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12801 you mad in the end.
12803 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12806 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12807 interfaces to these sources.
12810 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12811 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12812 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12813 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12814 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12817 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12819 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12820 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12821 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12822 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12823 though, you should be ok.
12825 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12826 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12827 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12828 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12829 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12833 @subsection Web Searches
12837 @cindex InReference
12838 @cindex Usenet searches
12839 @cindex searching the Usenet
12841 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12842 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12843 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12844 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12845 searches without having to use a browser.
12847 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12848 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12849 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12850 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12851 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12853 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12854 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12855 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12856 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12857 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12858 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12859 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12860 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12861 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12862 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12865 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12866 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12867 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12868 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12869 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12870 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12872 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12873 to use @code{nnweb}.
12875 Virtual server variables:
12880 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12881 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12885 @vindex nnweb-search
12886 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12888 @item nnweb-max-hits
12889 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12890 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12893 @item nnweb-type-definition
12894 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12895 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12896 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12901 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12905 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12908 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12911 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12915 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12922 @subsection Slashdot
12926 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12927 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12928 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12930 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12931 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12934 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12935 '((nnslashdot "")))
12938 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12939 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12940 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12941 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12942 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12945 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12946 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12948 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12949 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12950 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12951 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12952 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12953 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12956 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12959 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12960 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12961 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12962 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12963 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12964 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12965 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12967 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12968 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12969 The login name to use when posting.
12971 @item nnslashdot-password
12972 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12973 The password to use when posting.
12975 @item nnslashdot-directory
12976 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12977 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12978 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12980 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12981 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12982 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12983 news articles and comments. The default is
12984 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12986 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12987 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12988 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12990 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12992 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12993 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12994 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12996 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12998 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12999 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13000 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13002 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13003 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13004 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13005 updated. The default is 0.
13012 @subsection Ultimate
13014 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13016 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13017 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13018 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13019 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13021 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13022 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13023 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13024 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13025 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13026 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13027 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13029 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13032 @item nnultimate-directory
13033 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13034 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13035 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13040 @subsection Web Archive
13042 @cindex Web Archive
13044 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13045 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13046 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13047 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13050 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13051 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13052 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13053 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13054 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13055 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13056 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13058 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13061 @item nnwarchive-directory
13062 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13063 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13064 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13066 @item nnwarchive-login
13067 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13068 The account name on the web server.
13070 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13071 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13072 The password for your account on the web server.
13076 @node Customizing w3
13077 @subsection Customizing w3
13083 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13084 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13085 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13087 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13088 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13089 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13092 (eval-after-load "w3"
13094 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13095 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13096 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13097 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13099 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13102 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13103 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13107 @node Other Sources
13108 @section Other Sources
13110 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13111 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13115 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13116 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13117 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13118 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13119 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13120 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13124 @node Directory Groups
13125 @subsection Directory Groups
13127 @cindex directory groups
13129 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13130 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13133 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13134 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13135 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13136 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13138 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13139 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13140 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13141 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13142 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13144 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13146 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13147 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13148 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13149 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13152 @node Anything Groups
13153 @subsection Anything Groups
13156 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13157 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13158 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13161 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13162 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13163 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13164 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13165 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13166 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13167 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13168 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13169 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13170 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13173 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13174 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13175 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13176 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13178 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13179 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13180 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13181 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13183 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13184 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13185 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13186 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13187 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13188 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13189 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13190 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13195 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13196 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13197 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13198 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13200 @item nneething-exclude-files
13201 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13202 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13203 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13205 @item nneething-include-files
13206 @vindex nneething-include-files
13207 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13208 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13210 @item nneething-map-file
13211 @vindex nneething-map-file
13212 Name of the map files.
13216 @node Document Groups
13217 @subsection Document Groups
13219 @cindex documentation group
13222 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13223 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13230 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13235 The standard Unix mbox file.
13237 @cindex MMDF mail box
13239 The MMDF mail box format.
13242 Several news articles appended into a file.
13245 @cindex rnews batch files
13246 The rnews batch transport format.
13247 @cindex forwarded messages
13250 Forwarded articles.
13253 Netscape mail boxes.
13256 MIME multipart messages.
13258 @item standard-digest
13259 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13262 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13265 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13266 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13267 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13270 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13271 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13272 group. And that's it.
13274 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13275 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13276 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13277 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13278 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13279 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13280 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13281 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13282 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13283 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13285 Virtual server variables:
13288 @item nndoc-article-type
13289 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13290 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13291 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13292 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13293 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13295 @item nndoc-post-type
13296 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13297 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13298 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13303 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13307 @node Document Server Internals
13308 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13310 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13311 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13312 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13313 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13315 First, here's an example document type definition:
13319 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13320 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13323 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13324 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13325 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13326 types can be defined with very few settings:
13329 @item first-article
13330 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13331 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13334 @item article-begin
13335 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13336 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13338 @item head-begin-function
13339 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13342 @item nndoc-head-begin
13343 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13346 @item nndoc-head-end
13347 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13348 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13350 @item body-begin-function
13351 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13355 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13358 @item body-end-function
13359 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13363 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13366 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13367 regexp will be totally ignored.
13371 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13372 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13373 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13374 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13375 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13378 @item prepare-body-function
13379 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13380 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13381 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13383 @item article-transform-function
13384 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13385 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13386 body of the article.
13388 @item generate-head-function
13389 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13390 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13391 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13392 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13396 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13401 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13402 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13403 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13404 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13405 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13406 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13407 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13408 (subtype digest guess))
13411 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13412 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13413 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13414 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13415 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13417 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13418 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13419 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13420 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13421 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
13422 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13423 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13424 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13425 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13426 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13434 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13435 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13436 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13438 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13439 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13440 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13443 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13444 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13445 that interested in doing things properly.
13447 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13448 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13451 First some terminology:
13456 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13457 get news and/or mail from.
13460 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13461 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13464 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13468 @item message packets
13469 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13470 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13471 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13473 @item response packets
13474 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13475 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13476 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13486 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13487 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13488 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13489 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13492 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13495 You put the packet in your home directory.
13498 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13499 the native or secondary server.
13502 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13503 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13506 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13510 You transfer this packet to the server.
13513 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13516 You then repeat until you die.
13520 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13521 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13524 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13525 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13526 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13530 @node SOUP Commands
13531 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13533 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13537 @kindex G s b (Group)
13538 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13539 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13540 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13541 process/prefix convention.
13544 @kindex G s w (Group)
13545 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13546 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13549 @kindex G s s (Group)
13550 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13551 Send all replies from the replies packet
13552 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13555 @kindex G s p (Group)
13556 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13557 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13560 @kindex G s r (Group)
13561 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13562 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13565 @kindex O s (Summary)
13566 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13567 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13568 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13569 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13574 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13579 @item gnus-soup-directory
13580 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13581 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13582 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13584 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13585 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13586 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13587 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13589 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13590 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13591 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13592 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13594 @item gnus-soup-packer
13595 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13596 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13597 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13599 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13600 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13601 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13602 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13604 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13605 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13606 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13608 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13609 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13610 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13611 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13617 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13620 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13621 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13622 you can read them at leisure.
13624 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13628 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13629 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13630 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13631 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13633 @item nnsoup-directory
13634 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13635 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13636 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13638 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13639 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13640 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13641 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13643 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13644 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13645 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13646 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13647 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13649 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13650 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13651 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13652 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13654 @item nnsoup-active-file
13655 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13656 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13657 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13658 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13659 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13661 @item nnsoup-packer
13662 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13663 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13664 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13666 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13667 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13668 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13669 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13671 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13672 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13673 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13676 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13677 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13678 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13681 @item nnsoup-always-save
13682 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13683 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13689 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13691 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13692 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13693 more for that to happen.
13695 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13696 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13697 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13700 In specific, this is what it does:
13703 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13704 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13707 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13708 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13709 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13712 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13713 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13714 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13717 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13718 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13719 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13721 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13727 @item nngateway-address
13728 @vindex nngateway-address
13729 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13731 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13732 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13733 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13734 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13735 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13736 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13737 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13740 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13741 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13742 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13745 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13748 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13751 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13754 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13756 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13759 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13760 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13761 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13763 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13765 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13766 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13767 @code{nngateway-address}.
13772 (setq gnus-post-method
13773 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13774 (nngateway-header-transformation
13775 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13783 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13786 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13792 @subsection @sc{imap}
13796 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13797 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13798 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13799 network address of the server.
13801 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13802 might look something like this:
13805 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13806 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13807 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13809 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13810 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13811 ; a UW server running on localhost
13813 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13814 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13815 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13816 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13817 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13818 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13819 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13820 (nnimap-stream network))
13821 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13823 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13824 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13825 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13828 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13833 @item nnimap-address
13834 @vindex nnimap-address
13836 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13837 server name if not specified.
13839 @item nnimap-server-port
13840 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13841 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13843 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13846 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13847 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13850 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13851 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13852 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13853 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13854 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13855 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13856 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13858 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13859 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13860 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13863 Example server specification:
13866 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13867 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13868 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13871 @item nnimap-stream
13872 @vindex nnimap-stream
13873 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13874 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13875 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13876 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13878 Example server specification:
13881 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13882 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13885 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13889 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13890 @samp{imtest} program.
13892 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13894 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13895 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13898 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13899 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13901 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13903 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13906 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13907 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13908 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13909 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13912 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13913 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13914 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13915 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
13916 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13917 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13918 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13921 @vindex imap-shell-program
13922 @vindex imap-shell-host
13923 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13924 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13926 @item nnimap-authenticator
13927 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13929 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13930 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13932 Example server specification:
13935 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13936 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13939 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13943 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13944 external program @code{imtest}.
13946 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13949 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13950 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13952 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13954 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13956 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13959 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13961 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13962 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13963 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13964 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13965 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13966 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13969 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13970 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13971 running in circles yet?
13973 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13974 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13977 The possible options are:
13982 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13985 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13986 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13987 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13988 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13990 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13995 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13996 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
13998 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
13999 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
14000 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
14002 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14003 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14004 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14010 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14011 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14012 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14017 @node Splitting in IMAP
14018 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14019 @cindex splitting imap mail
14021 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14022 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14023 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14024 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14025 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14029 Here are the variables of interest:
14033 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14034 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14036 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14038 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14039 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14041 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14043 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14044 @cindex splitting, inbox
14046 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14048 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14049 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14053 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14054 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14057 No nnmail equivalent.
14059 @item nnimap-split-rule
14060 @cindex Splitting, rules
14061 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14063 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14066 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14067 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14068 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14069 Neither did I, we need examples.
14072 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14073 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14074 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14075 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14078 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14079 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14080 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
14082 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14083 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14087 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14090 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14091 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14092 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14093 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14095 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14096 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14097 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14098 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
14099 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14100 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14102 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14103 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14104 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14106 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14107 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14108 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14110 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14112 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14113 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14114 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14117 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14118 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14119 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14120 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14121 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14122 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14125 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14126 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14127 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14128 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14129 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14130 group/function elements.
14132 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14134 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14136 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14138 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14139 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14141 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14142 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14143 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14146 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14147 @cindex splitting, fancy
14148 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14149 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14151 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14152 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14153 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14155 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14156 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14157 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14158 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14163 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14164 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14167 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14171 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14172 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14173 @cindex editing imap acls
14174 @cindex Access Control Lists
14175 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14177 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14179 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14180 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14181 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14184 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14185 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14186 editing window with detailed instructions.
14188 Some possible uses:
14192 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14193 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14194 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14196 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14197 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14198 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14202 @node Expunging mailboxes
14203 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14207 @cindex Manual expunging
14209 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14211 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
14212 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14213 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14215 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14220 @node Combined Groups
14221 @section Combined Groups
14223 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14227 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14228 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14232 @node Virtual Groups
14233 @subsection Virtual Groups
14235 @cindex virtual groups
14236 @cindex merging groups
14238 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14241 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14242 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14243 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14245 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14246 regexp to match component groups.
14248 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14249 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14250 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14251 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14252 the virtual group.)
14254 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14255 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14258 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14261 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14262 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14264 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14265 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14266 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14267 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14270 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14273 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14274 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14275 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14277 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14278 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14279 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14280 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14281 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14283 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14284 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14285 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14287 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14288 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14289 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14290 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14291 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14292 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14293 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14294 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14295 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14296 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14297 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14299 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14300 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14301 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14302 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14303 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14304 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14305 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14307 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14308 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14312 @node Kibozed Groups
14313 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14317 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14318 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14319 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14320 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14322 @kindex G k (Group)
14323 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14326 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14327 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14328 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14329 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14331 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14332 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14333 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14335 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14336 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14337 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14338 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14339 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14340 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14341 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14342 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14344 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14345 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14346 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14347 Stranger things have happened.
14349 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14350 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14352 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14353 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14354 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14355 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14356 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14357 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14359 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14360 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14363 @node Gnus Unplugged
14364 @section Gnus Unplugged
14369 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14371 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14372 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14373 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14374 read news. Believe it or not.
14376 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14377 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14378 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14379 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14380 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14382 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14383 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14384 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14385 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14386 reading news on a machine.
14388 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14392 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14393 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14397 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14398 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14405 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14407 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14410 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14411 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14412 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14413 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14414 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14415 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14416 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14417 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14418 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14419 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14424 @subsection Agent Basics
14426 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14428 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14429 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14430 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14431 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14433 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14434 connected to the net continuously.
14436 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14437 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14439 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14444 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14445 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14446 already fetched while in this mode.
14449 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14450 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14451 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14452 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14453 Source Specifiers}).
14456 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14457 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14458 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14459 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14460 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14463 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14464 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14465 then you read the news offline.
14468 And then you go to step 2.
14471 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14477 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14478 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14479 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14480 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14481 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14482 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14485 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14492 @node Agent Categories
14493 @subsection Agent Categories
14495 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14496 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14497 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14498 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14499 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14500 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14501 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14503 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14504 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14505 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14506 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14507 managing categories.
14510 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14511 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14512 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14516 @node Category Syntax
14517 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14519 A category consists of two things.
14523 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14524 are eligible for downloading; and
14527 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14528 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14529 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14532 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14533 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14534 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14535 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14537 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14538 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14539 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
14541 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14542 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14543 operators sprinkled in between.
14545 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14547 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14548 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14554 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14555 short (for some value of ``short'').
14557 Here's a more complex predicate:
14566 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14567 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14570 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14571 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14572 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14574 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14575 you want to do, you can write your own.
14579 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14580 lines; default 100.
14583 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14584 lines; default 200.
14587 True iff the article has a download score less than
14588 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14591 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14592 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14595 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14596 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14597 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14606 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14607 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14608 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14611 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14612 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14613 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14614 something along the lines of the following:
14617 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14618 "Say whether an article is old."
14619 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14620 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14623 with the predicate then defined as:
14626 (not my-article-old-p)
14629 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14630 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14631 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14632 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14635 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
14636 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14637 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14640 and simply specify your predicate as:
14646 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14647 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14648 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14649 just don't give a damn.
14651 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14652 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14653 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14654 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14655 parameters like so:
14658 (agent-predicate . short)
14661 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14662 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14663 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14665 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14668 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14671 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14672 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14673 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14676 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14677 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14678 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14679 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14680 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14681 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14683 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14684 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14685 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14686 if it's to be specific to that group.
14688 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14695 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14696 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14702 Category specification
14706 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14712 Group Parameter specification
14715 (agent-score ("from"
14716 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14721 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14727 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14734 Category specification
14737 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14743 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14747 Group Parameter specification
14750 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14753 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14758 Use @code{normal} score files
14760 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14761 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14762 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14763 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14765 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14766 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14767 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14768 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14772 Category Specification
14779 Group Parameter specification
14782 (agent-score . file)
14787 @node The Category Buffer
14788 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14790 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14791 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14792 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14794 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14798 @kindex q (Category)
14799 @findex gnus-category-exit
14800 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14803 @kindex k (Category)
14804 @findex gnus-category-kill
14805 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14808 @kindex c (Category)
14809 @findex gnus-category-copy
14810 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14813 @kindex a (Category)
14814 @findex gnus-category-add
14815 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14818 @kindex p (Category)
14819 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14820 Edit the predicate of the current category
14821 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14824 @kindex g (Category)
14825 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14826 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14827 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14830 @kindex s (Category)
14831 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14832 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14833 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14836 @kindex l (Category)
14837 @findex gnus-category-list
14838 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14842 @node Category Variables
14843 @subsubsection Category Variables
14846 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14847 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14848 Hook run in category buffers.
14850 @item gnus-category-line-format
14851 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14852 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14853 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14857 The name of the category.
14860 The number of groups in the category.
14863 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14864 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14865 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14867 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14868 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14869 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14871 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14872 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14873 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14875 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14876 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14877 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14880 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14881 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14882 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14888 @node Agent Commands
14889 @subsection Agent Commands
14891 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14892 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14893 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14897 * Group Agent Commands::
14898 * Summary Agent Commands::
14899 * Server Agent Commands::
14902 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14903 following incantation:
14905 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14907 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14912 @node Group Agent Commands
14913 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14917 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14918 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14919 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14920 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14923 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14924 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14925 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14928 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14929 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14930 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14931 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14934 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14935 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14936 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14937 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14940 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14941 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14942 Add the current group to an Agent category
14943 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14944 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14947 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14948 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14949 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14950 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14951 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14954 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
14955 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14956 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
14962 @node Summary Agent Commands
14963 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14967 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14968 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14969 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14972 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14973 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14974 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14975 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14978 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14979 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14980 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14983 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14984 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14985 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14990 @node Server Agent Commands
14991 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14995 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14996 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14997 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14998 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15001 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15002 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15003 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15004 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15010 @subsection Agent Expiry
15012 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15013 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15014 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15015 @cindex Agent expiry
15016 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15019 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15020 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15021 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15022 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15023 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15024 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15026 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15027 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15028 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15029 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15030 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15033 @node Agent and IMAP
15034 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15036 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However, since
15037 there are some conceptual differences between NNTP and IMAP, this
15038 section (should) provide you with some information to make Gnus Agent
15039 work smoother as a IMAP Disconnected Mode client.
15041 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15042 are kept on the IMAP server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15043 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15044 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15046 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15047 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15048 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15049 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15050 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15052 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15053 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15054 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15055 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15056 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15057 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15059 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15060 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15061 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15062 in the group buffer by default.
15064 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15065 expect from a disconnected IMAP client, including:
15070 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15073 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15077 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15078 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15079 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15080 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15081 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15082 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15083 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15084 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15087 @node Outgoing Messages
15088 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15090 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15091 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15092 after posting, and edit them at will.
15094 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15095 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15096 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15097 messages in the draft group.
15101 @node Agent Variables
15102 @subsection Agent Variables
15105 @item gnus-agent-directory
15106 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15107 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15108 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15110 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15111 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15112 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15113 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15114 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15117 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15118 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15119 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15121 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15122 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15123 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15128 @node Example Setup
15129 @subsection Example Setup
15131 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15132 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15133 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15136 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15137 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15138 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15140 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15141 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15142 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15144 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15145 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15147 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15151 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15152 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15155 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15156 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15157 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15158 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15159 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15162 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15163 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15164 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15165 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15166 back all the killed groups.)
15168 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15169 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15170 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15173 @node Batching Agents
15174 @subsection Batching Agents
15176 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15177 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15178 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15182 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15186 @node Agent Caveats
15187 @subsection Agent Caveats
15189 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15190 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15194 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15199 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15200 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15206 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15207 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15214 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15215 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15216 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15219 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15220 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15221 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15222 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15223 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15225 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15226 before generating the summary buffer.
15228 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15229 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15230 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15232 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15233 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15234 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15235 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15238 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15239 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15240 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15241 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15242 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15243 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15244 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15245 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15246 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15247 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15248 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15249 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15250 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15251 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15252 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15253 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15257 @node Summary Score Commands
15258 @section Summary Score Commands
15259 @cindex score commands
15261 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15262 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15263 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15264 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15265 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15267 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15268 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15269 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15270 score file the current one.
15272 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15277 @kindex V s (Summary)
15278 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15279 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15282 @kindex V S (Summary)
15283 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15284 Display the score of the current article
15285 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15288 @kindex V t (Summary)
15289 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15290 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15291 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15294 @kindex V R (Summary)
15295 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15296 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15297 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15298 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15299 effect you're having.
15302 @kindex V c (Summary)
15303 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15304 Make a different score file the current
15305 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15308 @kindex V e (Summary)
15309 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15310 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15311 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15315 @kindex V f (Summary)
15316 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15317 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15318 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15321 @kindex V F (Summary)
15322 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15323 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15324 after editing score files.
15327 @kindex V C (Summary)
15328 @findex gnus-score-customize
15329 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15330 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15334 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15339 @kindex V m (Summary)
15340 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15341 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15342 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15345 @kindex V x (Summary)
15346 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15347 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15348 expunge all articles below this score
15349 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15352 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15353 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15356 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15357 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15361 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15362 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15364 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15365 keys are available:
15369 Score on the author name.
15372 Score on the subject line.
15375 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15378 Score on the @code{References} line.
15384 Score on the number of lines.
15387 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15390 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15391 the followups to this author.
15405 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15406 what headers you are scoring on.
15418 Substring matching.
15421 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15450 Greater than number.
15455 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15456 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15457 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15461 Temporary score entry.
15464 Permanent score entry.
15467 Immediately scoring.
15472 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15473 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15474 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15475 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15477 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15478 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15479 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15480 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15481 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15483 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15484 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15485 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15486 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15487 current score file.
15489 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15490 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15491 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15494 @node Group Score Commands
15495 @section Group Score Commands
15496 @cindex group score commands
15498 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15503 @kindex W f (Group)
15504 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15505 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15506 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15507 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15511 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15513 @findex gnus-batch-score
15514 @cindex batch scoring
15516 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15520 @node Score Variables
15521 @section Score Variables
15522 @cindex score variables
15526 @item gnus-use-scoring
15527 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15528 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15529 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15531 @item gnus-kill-killed
15532 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15533 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15534 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15535 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15536 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15537 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15538 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15540 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15541 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15542 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15543 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15544 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15546 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15547 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15548 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15549 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15551 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15552 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15553 @cindex score cache
15554 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15555 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15556 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
15557 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15558 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15559 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15562 @item gnus-save-score
15563 @vindex gnus-save-score
15564 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15565 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15566 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15568 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15569 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15570 across group visits.
15572 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15573 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15574 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15575 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15576 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15577 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15578 manually entered data.
15580 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15581 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15582 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15584 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15585 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15586 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15587 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15588 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15589 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15591 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15592 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15593 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15594 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15596 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15597 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15598 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15599 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15601 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15602 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15603 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15604 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15606 Predefined functions available are:
15609 @item gnus-score-find-single
15610 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15611 Only apply the group's own score file.
15613 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15614 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15615 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15616 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15617 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15618 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15619 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15620 then a regexp match is done.
15622 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15623 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15625 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15626 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15627 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15628 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15630 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15631 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15632 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15633 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15634 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15638 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15639 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15640 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15641 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15642 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15643 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15644 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15646 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15647 overall score file, you could use the value
15649 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15652 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15653 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15654 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15655 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15656 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15658 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15659 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15660 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15661 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15662 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15663 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15664 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15667 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15668 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15669 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15671 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15672 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15673 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15674 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15675 threading---according to the current value of
15676 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15677 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15678 simplified in this manner.
15683 @node Score File Format
15684 @section Score File Format
15685 @cindex score file format
15687 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15688 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15689 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15691 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15695 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15697 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15699 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15701 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15706 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15710 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15711 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15712 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15713 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15717 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15718 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15720 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15721 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15722 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15724 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15729 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15730 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15731 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15732 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15733 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15734 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15735 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15736 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15737 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15738 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15739 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15740 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15741 to articles that matches these score entries.
15743 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15744 score entry has one to four elements.
15748 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15749 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15753 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15754 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15755 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15756 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15757 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15758 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15761 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15762 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15763 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15764 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15765 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15768 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15769 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15770 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15771 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15774 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15775 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15776 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15777 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15778 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15779 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15780 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15781 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15782 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15783 instead, if you feel like.
15786 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15787 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15789 These predicates are true if
15792 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15795 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15796 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15803 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15804 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15805 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15806 it's not. I think.)
15808 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15809 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15810 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15811 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15814 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15815 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15816 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15817 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15818 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15819 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15820 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15824 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15825 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15826 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15827 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15828 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15829 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15830 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15831 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15834 @item Head, Body, All
15835 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15839 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15840 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15841 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15842 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15843 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15844 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15845 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15849 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15850 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15851 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15852 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15853 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15854 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15855 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15856 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15857 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15858 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15859 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15863 @cindex Score File Atoms
15865 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15866 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15869 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15870 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15872 @item mark-and-expunge
15873 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15874 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15877 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15878 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15879 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15880 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15881 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15884 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15885 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15888 @item exclude-files
15889 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15890 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15894 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15895 ignored when handling global score files.
15898 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15899 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15900 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15901 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15904 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15905 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15906 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15907 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15909 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15913 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15916 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15917 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15918 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15919 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15920 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15922 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15923 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15924 ordinary scoring rules.
15927 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15928 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15929 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15930 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15931 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15932 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15933 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15934 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15935 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15936 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15937 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15941 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15942 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15943 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15944 file for a number of groups.
15947 @cindex local variables
15948 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15949 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15950 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15951 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15952 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15956 @node Score File Editing
15957 @section Score File Editing
15959 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15960 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15961 with a mode for that.
15963 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15964 additional commands:
15969 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15970 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15971 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15972 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15975 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15976 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15977 Insert the current date in numerical format
15978 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15979 you were wondering.
15982 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15983 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15984 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15985 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15986 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15991 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15993 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15994 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15996 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15997 e} to begin editing score files.
16000 @node Adaptive Scoring
16001 @section Adaptive Scoring
16002 @cindex adaptive scoring
16004 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16005 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16006 stupidity, to be precise.
16008 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16009 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16010 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16011 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16012 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16013 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16014 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16015 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16016 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16018 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16019 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16020 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16021 might look something like this:
16024 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16025 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16026 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16027 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16028 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16029 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16030 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16031 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16032 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16033 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16034 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16035 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16038 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16039 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16040 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16041 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16042 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16043 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16046 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16047 will be applied to each article.
16049 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16050 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16051 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16052 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16054 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16055 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16056 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16057 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16059 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16060 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16061 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16062 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16064 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16065 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16066 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16067 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16068 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16069 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16071 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16072 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16073 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16074 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16075 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16076 aspirins afterwards.)
16078 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16079 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16080 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16082 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16083 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16084 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16086 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16087 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16088 let you use different rules in different groups.
16090 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16091 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16092 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16095 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16096 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16097 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16098 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16099 the length of the match is less than
16100 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16101 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16104 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16105 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16106 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16107 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16108 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16111 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16112 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16113 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16114 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16115 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16118 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16119 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16120 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16121 score with 30 points.
16123 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16124 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16125 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16126 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16127 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16129 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16130 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16131 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16132 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16134 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16135 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16136 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16137 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16139 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16140 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16141 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16142 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16143 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16145 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16146 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16147 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16149 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16150 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16151 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16152 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16155 @node Home Score File
16156 @section Home Score File
16158 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16159 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16160 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16161 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16163 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16164 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16165 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16167 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16168 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16173 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16177 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16178 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16182 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16186 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16187 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
16190 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16191 the home score file.
16194 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16197 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16202 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16205 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16206 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16209 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16210 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16212 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16214 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16215 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16218 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16219 Other functions include
16222 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16223 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16224 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16225 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16229 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16230 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16231 their own home score files:
16234 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16235 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16236 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16237 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16238 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16241 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16242 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16243 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16244 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16245 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16247 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16248 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16249 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16250 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16251 precedence over this variable.
16254 @node Followups To Yourself
16255 @section Followups To Yourself
16257 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16258 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16259 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16260 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16261 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16262 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16266 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16267 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16268 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16271 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16272 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16273 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16277 @vindex message-sent-hook
16278 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16279 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
16281 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
16285 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16286 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16290 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16291 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16294 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16295 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16300 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
16304 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16305 is system-dependent.
16309 @section Scoring Tips
16310 @cindex scoring tips
16316 @cindex scoring crossposts
16317 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16318 the @code{Xref} header.
16320 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16323 @item Multiple crossposts
16324 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16325 more than, say, 3 groups:
16327 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16330 @item Matching on the body
16331 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16332 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16333 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16334 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16335 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16336 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16337 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16340 @item Marking as read
16341 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16342 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16343 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16347 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16349 @item Negated character classes
16350 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16351 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16352 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16356 @node Reverse Scoring
16357 @section Reverse Scoring
16358 @cindex reverse scoring
16360 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16361 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16362 like this in your score file:
16366 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16371 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16372 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16375 @node Global Score Files
16376 @section Global Score Files
16377 @cindex global score files
16379 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16380 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16381 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16383 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16384 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16385 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16387 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16388 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16389 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16390 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16391 files are applicable to which group.
16393 Say you want to use the score file
16394 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16395 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16398 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16399 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16400 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16403 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16404 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16405 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16406 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16407 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16409 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16410 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16412 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16413 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16414 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16415 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16416 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16417 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16419 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16425 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16427 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16429 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16431 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16432 lowered out of existence.
16434 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16435 articles completely.
16438 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16439 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16440 old articles for a long time.
16443 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16444 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16445 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16446 holding our breath yet?
16450 @section Kill Files
16453 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16454 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16455 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16457 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16458 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16459 files into score files.
16461 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16462 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16463 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16464 that isn't a very good idea.
16466 Normal kill files look like this:
16469 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16470 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16474 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16475 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16477 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16478 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16481 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16486 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16487 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16488 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16491 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16492 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16493 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16496 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16501 @kindex M-k (Group)
16502 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16503 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16506 @kindex M-K (Group)
16507 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16508 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16511 Kill file variables:
16514 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16515 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16516 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16517 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16518 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16519 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16520 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16522 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16523 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16524 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16525 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16528 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16529 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16530 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16531 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16532 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16533 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16534 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16535 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16536 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16538 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16539 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16540 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16545 @node Converting Kill Files
16546 @section Converting Kill Files
16548 @cindex converting kill files
16550 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16551 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16552 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16555 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16556 You can fetch it from
16557 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16559 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16560 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16561 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16569 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16570 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16571 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16573 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16574 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16575 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16576 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16577 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16578 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16579 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16580 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16584 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16585 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16586 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16587 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16591 @node Using GroupLens
16592 @subsection Using GroupLens
16594 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16596 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16597 better bit in town at the moment.
16599 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16603 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16604 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16605 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16606 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16608 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16609 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16610 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16611 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16613 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16614 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16615 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16619 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16620 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16621 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16622 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16623 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16624 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16627 @node Rating Articles
16628 @subsection Rating Articles
16630 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16631 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16632 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16633 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16636 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16641 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16642 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16643 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16646 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16647 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16648 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16649 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16650 threads in rec.humor.
16654 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16655 the score of the article you're reading.
16660 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16661 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16662 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16665 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16666 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16667 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16671 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16672 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16675 @node Displaying Predictions
16676 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16678 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16679 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16680 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16681 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16682 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16684 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16685 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16686 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16687 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16688 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16689 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16690 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16691 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16692 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16693 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16694 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16695 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16696 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16698 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16699 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16700 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16701 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16703 The following are valid values for that variable.
16706 @item prediction-spot
16707 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16710 @item confidence-interval
16711 A numeric confidence interval.
16713 @item prediction-bar
16714 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16716 @item confidence-bar
16717 Numerical confidence.
16719 @item confidence-spot
16720 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16722 @item prediction-num
16723 Plain-old numeric value.
16725 @item confidence-plus-minus
16726 Prediction +/- confidence.
16731 @node GroupLens Variables
16732 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16736 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16737 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16738 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16739 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16742 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16743 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16746 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16747 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16749 @item grouplens-score-offset
16750 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16751 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16754 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16755 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16756 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16761 @node Advanced Scoring
16762 @section Advanced Scoring
16764 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16765 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16766 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16767 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16768 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16770 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16774 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16775 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16776 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16780 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16781 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16783 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16784 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16785 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16786 non-@code{nil} value.
16788 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16789 operator, and various match operators.
16796 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16797 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16798 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16803 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16804 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16805 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16810 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16811 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16815 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16816 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16817 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16818 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16819 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16820 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16821 the ancestry you want to go.
16823 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16824 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16825 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16826 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16827 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16830 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16831 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16833 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16834 when he's talking about Gnus:
16838 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16839 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16845 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16849 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16856 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16857 really don't want to read what he's written:
16861 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16862 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16866 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16867 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16868 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16875 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16876 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16877 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16878 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16882 The possibilities are endless.
16885 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16886 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16888 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16889 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16890 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16891 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16892 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16893 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16894 @samp{subject}) first.
16896 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16897 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16908 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16909 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16915 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16922 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16923 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16928 @section Score Decays
16929 @cindex score decays
16932 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16933 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16934 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16935 use them in any sensible way.
16937 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16938 @findex gnus-decay-score
16939 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16940 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16941 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16942 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16943 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16944 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16945 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16946 definition of that function:
16949 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16951 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16952 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16955 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16957 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16959 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16962 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16963 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16964 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16965 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16969 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16972 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16975 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16979 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16980 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16981 the new score, which should be an integer.
16983 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16984 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16991 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16992 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16993 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16994 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16995 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16996 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16997 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16998 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16999 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17000 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17001 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17002 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17003 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17004 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17005 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17006 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17007 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17008 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17012 @node Process/Prefix
17013 @section Process/Prefix
17014 @cindex process/prefix convention
17016 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17017 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17019 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17020 command to be performed on.
17024 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17025 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17026 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17027 with the current one.
17029 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17030 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17031 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17033 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17034 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17037 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17038 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17040 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17043 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17044 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17045 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17046 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17048 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17049 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17050 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17051 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17052 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17053 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17054 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17055 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17057 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17058 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17059 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17060 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17061 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17065 @section Interactive
17066 @cindex interaction
17070 @item gnus-novice-user
17071 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17072 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17073 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17074 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17075 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17078 @item gnus-expert-user
17079 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17080 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17081 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17082 matter how strange.
17084 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17085 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17086 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17087 is @code{t} by default.
17089 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17090 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17091 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17096 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17097 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17098 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17100 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17101 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17102 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17103 rule of 900 to the current article.
17105 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17106 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17107 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17108 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17109 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17110 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17111 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17113 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17114 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17115 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17116 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17117 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17118 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17119 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17120 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17121 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17123 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17124 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17125 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17127 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17131 @node Formatting Variables
17132 @section Formatting Variables
17133 @cindex formatting variables
17135 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17136 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17137 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17138 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17139 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17142 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17143 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17144 lots of percentages everywhere.
17147 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17148 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17149 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17150 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17151 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17154 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17155 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17156 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17157 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17158 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17159 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17160 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17161 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17163 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17164 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17166 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17167 @findex gnus-update-format
17168 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17169 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17170 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17171 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17175 @node Formatting Basics
17176 @subsection Formatting Basics
17178 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17179 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17180 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17182 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17183 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17184 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17185 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17186 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17189 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17190 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17191 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17192 less than 4 characters wide.
17195 @node Mode Line Formatting
17196 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17198 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17199 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17200 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17201 with the following two differences:
17206 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17209 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17210 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17211 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17212 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17213 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17214 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17215 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17220 @node Advanced Formatting
17221 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17223 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17224 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17225 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17226 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17228 These are the valid modifiers:
17233 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17237 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17242 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17245 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17250 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17253 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17256 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17259 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17263 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17264 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17265 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17266 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17267 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17268 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17269 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17271 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17272 last operation, padding.
17274 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
17275 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
17276 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
17277 @xref{Compilation}.
17280 @node User-Defined Specs
17281 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17283 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17284 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17285 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17286 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17287 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17288 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17289 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17290 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17291 should protect against that.
17293 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17294 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17295 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17296 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17300 @node Formatting Fonts
17301 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17303 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17304 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17305 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17306 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17309 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17310 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17311 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17312 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17313 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17314 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17316 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17317 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17318 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17319 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17320 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17321 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17322 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17323 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17325 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17328 ;; Create three face types.
17329 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17330 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17332 ;; We want the article count to be in
17333 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17334 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17335 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17337 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17338 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17340 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17341 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17342 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17345 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17346 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17348 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17349 mode-line variables.
17352 @node Windows Configuration
17353 @section Windows Configuration
17354 @cindex windows configuration
17356 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17358 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17359 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17360 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17361 @code{t} by default.
17363 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17364 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17366 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17367 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17368 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17371 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17372 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17373 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17377 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17378 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17379 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17380 possible names is listed below.
17382 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17383 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17386 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17390 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17391 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17392 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17393 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17394 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17395 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17396 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17397 size spec per split.
17399 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17400 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17401 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17402 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17403 present) gets focus.
17405 Here's a more complicated example:
17408 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17409 (summary 0.25 point)
17410 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17414 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17415 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17416 occupy, not a percentage.
17418 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17419 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17420 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17421 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17422 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17425 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17428 (article (horizontal 1.0
17433 (summary 0.25 point)
17438 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17439 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17441 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17442 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17443 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17444 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17445 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17447 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17448 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17449 lines from the splits.
17451 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17455 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17456 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17457 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17458 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17459 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17460 size = number | frame-params
17461 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17464 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17465 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17466 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17467 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17469 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17470 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17471 @cindex window height
17472 @cindex window width
17473 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17474 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17475 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17476 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17477 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17478 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17480 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17481 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17482 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17483 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17485 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17486 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17487 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17488 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17489 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17490 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17491 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17492 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17493 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17494 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17495 configuration list.
17498 (gnus-configure-frame
17502 (article 0.3 point))
17510 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17511 @code{frame} split:
17514 (gnus-configure-frame
17517 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17519 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17520 (user-position . t)
17521 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17526 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17527 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17528 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17529 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17530 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17531 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17532 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17533 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17535 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17536 be found in its default value.
17538 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17539 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17540 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17544 (message (horizontal 1.0
17545 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17547 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17552 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17553 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17554 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17557 (message (frame 1.0
17558 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17559 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17560 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17561 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17562 (name . "Message"))
17563 (message 1.0 point))))
17566 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17567 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17568 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17569 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17570 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17573 (gnus-add-configuration
17574 '(article (vertical 1.0
17576 (summary .25 point)
17580 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17581 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17582 Gnus has been loaded.
17584 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17585 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17586 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17587 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17588 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17590 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17591 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17592 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17595 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17599 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17600 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
17615 (gnus-add-configuration
17618 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17620 (summary 0.16 point)
17623 (gnus-add-configuration
17626 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17627 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
17633 @node Faces and Fonts
17634 @section Faces and Fonts
17639 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17640 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17641 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17646 @section Compilation
17647 @cindex compilation
17648 @cindex byte-compilation
17650 @findex gnus-compile
17652 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17653 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17654 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17655 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17656 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17657 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17660 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17661 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17662 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17663 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17664 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17665 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17666 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17670 @section Mode Lines
17673 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17674 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17675 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17676 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17677 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17678 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17679 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17682 @cindex display-time
17684 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17685 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17686 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17687 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17688 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17689 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17690 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17691 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17694 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17696 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17697 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17699 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17700 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17701 (length display-time-string)))))
17704 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17705 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17706 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17707 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17708 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17711 @node Highlighting and Menus
17712 @section Highlighting and Menus
17714 @cindex highlighting
17717 @vindex gnus-visual
17718 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17719 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17720 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17723 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17724 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17727 @item group-highlight
17728 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17729 @item summary-highlight
17730 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17731 @item article-highlight
17732 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17734 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17736 Create menus in the group buffer.
17738 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17740 Create menus in the article buffer.
17742 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17744 Create menus in the server buffer.
17746 Create menus in the score buffers.
17748 Create menus in all buffers.
17751 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17752 buffers, you could say something like:
17755 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17758 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17761 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17764 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17765 in all Gnus buffers.
17767 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17770 @item gnus-mouse-face
17771 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17772 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17773 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17777 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17781 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17782 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17783 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17785 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17786 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17787 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17789 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17790 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17791 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17793 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17794 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17795 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17797 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17798 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17799 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17801 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17802 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17803 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17814 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17815 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17816 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17817 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17818 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17822 @vindex gnus-carpal
17823 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17824 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17825 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17830 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17831 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17832 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17834 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17835 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17836 Face used on buttons.
17838 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17839 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17840 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17842 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17843 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17844 Buttons in the group buffer.
17846 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17847 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17848 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17850 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17851 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17852 Buttons in the server buffer.
17854 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17855 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17856 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17859 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17860 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17861 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17869 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17870 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17871 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17872 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17873 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17875 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17876 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17877 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17879 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17880 been idle for thirty minutes:
17883 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17886 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17890 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17893 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17894 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17895 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17897 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17898 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17899 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17900 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17902 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17903 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17904 @var{idle} minutes.
17906 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17907 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17910 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17911 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17912 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17914 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17915 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17916 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17917 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17919 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17920 your @file{.gnus} file:
17922 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17924 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17927 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17928 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17929 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17930 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17931 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17932 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17933 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17934 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17935 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17936 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17937 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17939 @findex gnus-demon-init
17940 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17941 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17942 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17943 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17944 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17946 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17947 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17948 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17957 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17958 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17960 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17961 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17962 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17963 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17966 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17967 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17968 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17969 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17971 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17972 this will make spam disappear.
17974 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17977 @item gnus-use-nocem
17978 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17979 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17982 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17983 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17984 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17985 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17986 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17988 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17989 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17990 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17991 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17992 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
17993 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17995 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
17996 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
17998 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17999 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18000 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18001 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18002 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18003 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18004 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18005 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18006 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18007 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18009 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18010 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18013 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18016 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18017 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18020 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18023 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18026 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18027 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18029 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18030 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18031 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18032 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18034 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18035 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18038 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18040 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18048 This might be dangerous, though.
18050 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18051 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18052 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18053 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18055 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18056 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18057 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18058 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18059 might then see old spam.
18061 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18062 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18063 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18064 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18065 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18068 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18069 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18070 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18071 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18075 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18076 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18077 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18078 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18085 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18086 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18087 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18089 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18090 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18091 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18092 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18093 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18094 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18095 @code{undo} function.
18097 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18098 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18099 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18100 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18101 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18102 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18103 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18104 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18105 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18106 never be totally undoable.
18108 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18109 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18111 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18112 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18113 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
18114 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18119 @section Moderation
18122 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18123 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18124 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18127 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18131 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18134 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18136 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18141 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18142 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18143 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18146 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18147 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18150 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18151 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18155 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18158 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18159 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18163 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18164 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18167 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18171 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18172 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18173 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18174 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18187 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18188 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18189 over your shoulder as you read news.
18192 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18193 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18194 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18195 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18196 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18201 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18203 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18212 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18213 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18214 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18215 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18216 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18217 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18218 @code{GIF} formats.
18221 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18222 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18223 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18224 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18225 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18227 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18228 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18229 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18230 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18231 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18232 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18235 @node Picon Requirements
18236 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18238 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18239 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18242 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18243 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18244 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18246 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18247 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18248 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18249 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18250 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18254 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18256 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18257 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18260 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18261 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18264 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18265 containing the Picons databases.
18267 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18270 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18271 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18276 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18284 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18285 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18286 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18287 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18288 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18293 @item gnus-picons-database
18294 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18295 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18296 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18297 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18298 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18299 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18301 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18302 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18303 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18304 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18305 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18306 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18307 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18309 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18310 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18311 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18312 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18313 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18314 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18315 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18316 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18318 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18319 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18320 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18325 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18326 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18328 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18329 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18332 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18334 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18335 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18336 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18337 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18339 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18340 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18341 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18347 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18348 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18356 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18357 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18358 don't need to worry about.
18362 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18363 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18364 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18365 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18367 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18368 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18369 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18370 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18372 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18373 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18374 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18375 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18376 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18378 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18379 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18380 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18381 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18382 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18383 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18384 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18386 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18387 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18388 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18389 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18391 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18392 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18393 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18394 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18395 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18396 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18397 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18399 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18400 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18401 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18402 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18404 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18405 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18406 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18407 Defaults to @code{t}.
18409 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18410 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18411 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18412 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18414 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18415 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18416 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18418 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18419 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18420 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18421 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18423 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18424 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
18426 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18427 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18428 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18429 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18430 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18431 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18432 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18433 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18444 @subsection Smileys
18449 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18454 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18455 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18457 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18458 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18461 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18464 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18465 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18466 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18467 text and maps that to file names.
18469 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18470 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18471 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18472 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18473 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18474 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18476 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18477 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18479 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18480 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18481 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18483 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18484 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18488 @item smiley-data-directory
18489 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18490 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18492 @item smiley-flesh-color
18493 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18494 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18496 @item smiley-features-color
18497 @vindex smiley-features-color
18498 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18500 @item smiley-tongue-color
18501 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18502 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18504 @item smiley-circle-color
18505 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18506 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18508 @item smiley-mouse-face
18509 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18510 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18516 @subsection Toolbar
18526 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18527 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18528 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18529 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18530 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18532 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18533 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18534 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18536 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18537 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18538 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18540 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18541 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18542 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18548 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18551 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18552 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18553 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18554 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18555 unusual directory structure.
18557 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18558 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18559 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18560 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18562 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18563 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18564 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18565 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18566 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18567 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18569 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18570 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18571 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18585 @node Fuzzy Matching
18586 @section Fuzzy Matching
18587 @cindex fuzzy matching
18589 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18590 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18592 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18593 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18594 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18596 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18597 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18598 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18599 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18600 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18603 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18604 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18608 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18610 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18611 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18612 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18613 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18614 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18615 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18616 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18617 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18620 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18621 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18622 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18623 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18624 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18625 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18629 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18630 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18632 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18633 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18634 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18635 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18636 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18637 part of the mail address.)
18640 (setq message-default-news-headers
18641 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18644 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18645 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18650 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18651 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18652 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18658 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18659 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18660 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18661 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18663 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18664 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18665 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18666 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18667 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18668 your fancy split rule in this way:
18673 (to "larsi" "misc")
18677 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18678 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18679 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18680 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18681 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18683 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18684 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18685 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
18686 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18687 cosmic balance somewhat.
18689 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18690 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18691 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18692 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18695 @node Various Various
18696 @section Various Various
18702 @item gnus-home-directory
18703 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18704 defaults to @file{~/}.
18706 @item gnus-directory
18707 @vindex gnus-directory
18708 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18709 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18710 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18712 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18713 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18714 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18715 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18717 @item gnus-default-directory
18718 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18719 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18720 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18721 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18722 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18723 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18724 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18727 @vindex gnus-verbose
18728 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18729 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18730 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18731 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18732 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18734 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18735 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18736 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18737 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18739 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18740 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18741 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18742 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18743 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18744 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18745 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18746 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18747 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18748 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18750 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18751 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18752 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18753 read when doing the operation described above.
18755 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18756 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18758 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18759 @cindex characters in file names
18760 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18761 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18762 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18765 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18769 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18770 Windows (phooey) systems.
18772 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18773 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18774 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18775 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18776 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18778 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18779 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18780 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18781 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18782 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18784 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18785 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18786 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18788 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18789 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18791 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18792 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18793 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18794 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18797 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18806 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18807 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18809 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18811 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18817 Not because of victories @*
18820 but for the common sunshine,@*
18822 the largess of the spring.
18826 but for the day's work done@*
18827 as well as I was able;@*
18828 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18829 but at the common table.@*
18834 @chapter Appendices
18837 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18838 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18839 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18840 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18841 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18842 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18843 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18844 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18852 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18853 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18855 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18856 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18857 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
18858 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18859 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18861 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18862 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18863 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18864 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18865 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18866 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18868 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18869 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18870 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18871 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18874 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18875 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18876 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18877 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18878 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18879 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18880 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18881 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18882 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18883 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18887 @node Gnus Versions
18888 @subsection Gnus Versions
18889 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18891 @cindex September Gnus
18892 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18894 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18895 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18896 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18898 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18899 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18901 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18902 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18904 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18905 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18907 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18908 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18911 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
18913 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18914 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
18915 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
18916 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
18917 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
18918 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
18921 @node Other Gnus Versions
18922 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18925 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18926 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18927 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18928 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18930 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18931 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18932 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18933 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18940 What's the point of Gnus?
18942 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18943 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18944 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18945 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18946 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18947 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18948 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18949 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18950 keep track of millions of people who post?
18952 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18953 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18954 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18955 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18956 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18957 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18958 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18959 every one of you to explore and invent.
18961 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18962 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18965 @node Compatibility
18966 @subsection Compatibility
18968 @cindex compatibility
18969 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18970 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18971 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18976 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18980 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18983 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18986 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18987 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18988 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18989 important variables have their values copied into their global
18990 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18991 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18993 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18994 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18995 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18996 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18997 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19001 @cindex highlighting
19002 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19003 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19004 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19005 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19006 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19007 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19010 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19011 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19012 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19013 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19015 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19016 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19017 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19018 to stop doing it the old way.
19020 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19022 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19024 @cindex reporting bugs
19026 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19027 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19028 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19030 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19031 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19032 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19033 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19038 @subsection Conformity
19040 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19041 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19048 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19052 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19054 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19055 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19056 We do have some breaches to this one.
19062 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19063 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19064 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19065 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19066 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19071 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19072 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19073 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19074 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19078 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19079 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19084 @subsection Emacsen
19090 Gnus should work on :
19098 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
19102 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19103 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19106 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19107 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19108 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19112 @node Gnus Development
19113 @subsection Gnus Development
19115 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19116 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19117 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19118 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19119 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19120 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19121 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19122 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19124 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19125 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19126 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19127 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19128 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19131 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19132 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19133 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19134 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19135 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19137 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19138 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19139 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19140 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19141 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19142 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19143 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19144 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19145 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19146 can't be assumed to do so.
19151 @subsection Contributors
19152 @cindex contributors
19154 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19155 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19156 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19157 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19158 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19159 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19160 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19161 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19162 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19163 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19165 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19171 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19174 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19175 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19176 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19177 functionality and stuff.
19180 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19181 well as numerous other things).
19184 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19187 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19190 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19193 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19194 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19197 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19200 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19201 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19204 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19207 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19210 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19213 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19216 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19217 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19220 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19223 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19226 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19229 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19233 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19236 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19239 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19242 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19243 well as autoconf support.
19247 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19248 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19250 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19259 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19263 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19273 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19288 Massimo Campostrini,
19293 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19294 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19298 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19301 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19307 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19312 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19316 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19324 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19326 Michelangelo Grigni,
19330 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19332 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19334 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19341 François Felix Ingrand,
19342 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19343 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19345 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19356 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19357 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19359 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19360 Thor Kristoffersen,
19363 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19381 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19382 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19389 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19394 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19398 John McClary Prevost,
19404 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19409 Christian von Roques,
19412 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19419 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19421 Randal L. Schwartz,
19435 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19440 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19456 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19461 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19462 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19463 (550kB and counting).
19465 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19468 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19469 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19473 @subsection New Features
19474 @cindex new features
19477 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19478 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19479 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19480 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19483 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19484 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19485 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19489 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19491 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19496 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19497 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19500 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19501 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19504 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19507 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19508 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19509 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19512 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19513 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19514 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19515 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19518 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19519 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19522 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19523 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19524 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19527 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19528 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19531 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19532 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19533 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19536 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19537 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19538 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19541 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19542 the @file{.emacs} file.
19545 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19546 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19549 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19550 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19553 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19554 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19557 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19558 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19561 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19562 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19565 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19568 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19569 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19572 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19573 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19576 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19577 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19580 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19583 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19584 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19587 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19591 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19595 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19596 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19599 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19605 @node September Gnus
19606 @subsubsection September Gnus
19610 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19614 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19619 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19620 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19624 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19625 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19629 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19633 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19634 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19637 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19641 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19644 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19647 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19650 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19654 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19655 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19658 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19662 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19666 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19670 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19674 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19677 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19678 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19681 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19685 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19686 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19689 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19692 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19693 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19694 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19697 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19701 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19704 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19708 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19709 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19712 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19713 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19716 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19717 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19720 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19721 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19722 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19725 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19726 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19729 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19732 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19735 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19738 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19741 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19742 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19745 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19749 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19752 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19757 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19760 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19764 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19767 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19771 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19774 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19777 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19778 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19781 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19782 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19786 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19787 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19790 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19794 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19795 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19798 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19801 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19805 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19809 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19810 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19813 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19817 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19818 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19821 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19822 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19825 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19829 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19832 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19835 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19841 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19843 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19847 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19854 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19857 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19858 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19861 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19862 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19866 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19867 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19870 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19873 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19874 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19877 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19881 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19882 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19886 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19887 Server Internals}).
19890 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19894 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19897 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19898 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19901 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19902 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19903 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19906 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19907 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19910 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19911 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19914 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19918 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19919 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19922 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19923 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19926 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19930 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19933 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19937 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19938 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19941 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19942 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19945 A new command for reading collections of documents
19946 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19947 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19950 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19954 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19955 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19958 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19959 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19960 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19963 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19964 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19968 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19972 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19976 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19981 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19985 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19989 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19990 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19993 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19999 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20001 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20006 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20007 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20008 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20011 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20012 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20013 group, which is created automatically.
20016 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20020 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20023 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20024 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20027 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20031 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20034 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20035 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20038 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20041 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20042 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20045 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20046 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20049 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20050 control over simplification.
20053 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20056 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20060 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20063 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20066 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20067 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20068 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20071 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20072 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20075 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20079 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20080 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20083 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20084 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20087 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20091 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20094 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20097 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20098 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20101 A new function for citing in Message has been
20102 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20105 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20108 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20112 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20113 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20116 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20117 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20120 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20123 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20128 @node Newest Features
20129 @subsection Newest Features
20132 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
20135 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
20137 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
20138 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
20141 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
20146 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
20147 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
20150 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
20153 @uref{http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/}
20156 facep is not declared.
20159 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
20160 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
20163 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
20168 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
20169 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
20170 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
20171 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
20172 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
20173 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
20174 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
20179 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
20182 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
20185 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
20187 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
20188 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
20190 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
20192 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
20194 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
20195 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
20197 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
20199 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
20200 be marked as unread.
20202 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
20204 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
20206 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
20207 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
20209 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
20211 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
20213 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
20214 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
20216 topics that contain just groups with ticked
20217 articles aren't displayed.
20219 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
20221 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
20222 make the mail groups killed.
20224 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
20226 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
20227 and articles have to be removed.
20229 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
20232 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
20234 finding short score file names takes forever.
20236 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20238 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
20240 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
20242 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
20244 nnweb doesn't work properly.
20246 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
20248 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
20249 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
20253 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
20255 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
20256 bar and the Gnus bar.
20259 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
20260 `(canonize-message-id id)'
20261 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
20262 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
20263 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
20264 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
20269 nnml .overview directory with splits.
20273 postponed commands.
20275 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
20277 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
20280 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
20281 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
20283 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
20284 inherit copy prompts and save files.
20286 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
20288 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
20289 for backends that support that.
20291 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
20293 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
20294 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
20296 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
20297 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
20299 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
20301 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
20303 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
20305 server mode command: close/open all connections
20307 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
20308 has been changed before using it.
20310 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
20312 hide (sub)threads with low score.
20314 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
20316 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
20318 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
20319 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
20321 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
20322 contain groups that match a regexp.
20324 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
20327 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
20330 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
20331 from subject lines.
20333 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
20335 nntp-ping-before-connect
20337 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
20339 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
20340 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
20342 message annotations.
20344 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
20346 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
20347 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
20349 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20354 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20356 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20358 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20360 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20361 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20363 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20365 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20367 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20368 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20370 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20371 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20373 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20375 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20377 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20378 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20380 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20382 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20384 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20385 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20388 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20390 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20392 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20393 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20395 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20398 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20399 should be marker as expirable.
20401 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20403 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20404 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20406 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20407 Also consult Date headers.
20409 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20411 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20413 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20414 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20416 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20417 into a See-Also header.
20419 support setext: @uref{http://www.bsdi.com/setext/}
20421 support ProleText: @uref{http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html}
20423 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20424 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20426 generate font names dynamically.
20428 score file mode auto-alist.
20430 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20431 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20433 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20434 absolutely all headers there is.
20436 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20437 and pipe them to the process.
20439 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20440 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20441 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20443 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20444 the current mail group.
20446 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20448 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20449 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20451 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20452 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20454 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20456 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20457 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20459 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20460 groups it has been mailed to.
20462 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20464 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20466 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20468 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20469 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20471 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20472 newlines) should be ignored.
20474 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20475 groups in subtopics as well.
20477 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20479 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20482 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20484 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20486 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20488 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20490 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20492 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20494 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20495 or the formatted article.
20497 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20499 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20500 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20502 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20504 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20506 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20508 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20509 even unread articles.
20511 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20513 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20515 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20517 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20519 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20521 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20524 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20525 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20527 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20528 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20530 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20532 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20534 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20535 from a particular server? Hm.
20537 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20538 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20540 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20542 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20543 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20545 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20546 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20548 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20549 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20550 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20553 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20554 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20556 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20558 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20560 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20562 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20565 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20568 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20569 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20571 command to show and edit group scores
20573 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20576 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20578 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20580 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20581 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20584 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20585 that are of that length.
20587 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20589 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20591 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20593 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20595 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20597 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20599 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20600 a score lower than this number.
20602 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20604 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20606 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20607 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20609 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20611 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20612 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20614 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20617 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20618 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20619 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20620 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20622 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20625 command to remove all topic stuff.
20627 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20628 and splitting the resulting digests.
20630 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20632 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20634 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20635 matches an alist -- before saving.
20637 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20639 variable to activate each group before entering them
20640 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20642 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20643 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20645 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20646 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20648 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20650 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20651 of several groups at once.
20653 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20654 matches some regexp(s).
20656 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20658 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20660 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20662 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20664 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20666 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20668 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20670 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20671 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20672 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20673 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20675 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20676 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20678 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20680 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20681 recently cited text.
20683 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20685 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20688 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20689 server and just read the articles in the server
20691 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20692 value of nnoo variables.
20694 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20696 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20697 listed in each group info.
20699 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20702 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20703 should only be applied to some groups.
20705 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20706 mail-copies-to: never.
20708 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20709 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20711 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20713 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20716 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20719 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20721 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20724 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20728 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20730 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20731 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20732 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20733 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20734 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20736 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20737 @uref{ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html}
20744 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20745 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20747 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20748 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20750 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20751 "Return the date the group was last read."
20752 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20757 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20758 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20759 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20760 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20764 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20765 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20767 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20770 They could be used like this:
20774 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20775 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20776 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20778 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20780 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20783 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20786 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20787 affect the summary line format.
20791 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20793 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20794 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20796 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20799 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20801 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20803 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20805 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20807 - For other files, just find them normally.
20809 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20810 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20813 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20814 tell him what you are doing.
20817 Currently, I get prompted:
20821 decend into sci.something ?
20825 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20826 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20827 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20828 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20831 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20832 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20833 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20834 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20837 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20838 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20844 more than n blank lines
20846 more than m identical lines
20847 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20849 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20853 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20854 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20855 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20856 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20859 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20860 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20861 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20862 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20865 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20868 soup - bowl of soup
20869 score below - dim light bulb
20870 score over - bright light bulb
20873 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20878 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20879 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20880 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20881 if (articles-selected)
20882 start-reading-selected-articles;
20883 junk-unread-articles;
20888 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20889 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20890 select-thread-under-cursor;
20892 select-article-under-cursor;
20896 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20897 if (more-pages-in-article)
20899 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20906 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20907 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20908 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20911 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20912 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20913 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20914 the wildcard expression).
20917 It would be nice if it also handled
20919 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20921 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20926 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20927 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20928 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20929 article versions) variable.
20931 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20933 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20934 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20938 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20941 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20942 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20943 (message-sent-hook).
20945 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20948 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20952 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20953 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20956 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20957 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20958 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20961 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20962 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20966 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20969 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20973 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20974 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20977 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20978 value of the signature file.
20981 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20982 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20985 (setq message-tab-alist
20986 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20987 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20989 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20993 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20996 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20999 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
21002 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
21003 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
21006 a command to process mark all unread articles.
21009 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
21010 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
21011 do more gathering by subject.
21014 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
21015 article numerical order.
21018 (gnus-thread-total-score
21019 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
21023 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
21026 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
21027 in the summary buffer.
21030 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
21031 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
21034 @uref{http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html}?
21035 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
21036 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
21037 and/or newsgroup name.
21040 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
21043 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
21046 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
21049 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
21050 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
21051 will automatically get the process mark.
21054 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
21055 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
21056 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
21059 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
21063 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
21064 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
21067 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
21068 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
21072 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
21073 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
21076 be able to post via DejaNews.
21079 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
21082 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
21083 allow them to be displayed separately.
21086 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
21087 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
21090 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
21091 articles that match a certain From header.
21094 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
21095 saving living summary buffers.
21098 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
21099 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
21102 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
21103 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
21106 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
21107 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
21110 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
21111 (goto-char (point-min))
21112 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
21113 (replace-match "`" t t))
21114 (goto-char (point-min))
21115 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
21116 (replace-match "'" t t))
21117 (goto-char (point-min))
21118 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
21119 (replace-match "\"" t t))
21120 (goto-char (point-min))
21121 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
21122 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
21127 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
21129 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
21130 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
21131 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
21132 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
21136 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
21139 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
21140 numbers and match on the age of the article.
21144 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
21145 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
21146 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
21148 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
21149 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
21151 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
21152 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
21157 all commands that react to the process mark should push
21158 the current process mark set onto the stack.
21161 gnus-article-hide-pgp
21162 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
21164 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
21166 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
21167 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
21170 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
21171 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
21174 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
21178 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
21179 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
21182 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
21185 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
21188 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
21191 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
21195 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
21201 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
21204 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
21208 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
21209 X characters in the body.
21212 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
21215 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
21218 format spec to "tab" to a position.
21221 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
21224 command to display all dormant articles.
21227 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
21230 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
21231 to something someone else has said.
21234 Read Netscape discussion groups:
21235 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
21238 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
21239 the displayed version.
21242 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
21246 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
21249 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
21250 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
21251 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
21255 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
21256 in the head or body.
21259 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
21262 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
21265 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
21266 in a special, unique buffer.
21269 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
21272 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
21273 is less than a certain number of days old.
21276 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
21279 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
21282 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
21283 file, for instance.
21286 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
21287 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
21288 dummy root instead of the first article.
21291 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
21292 topics for displaying.
21295 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
21296 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
21299 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
21302 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
21303 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
21304 summary buffer for each article.
21307 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
21310 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
21314 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
21317 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
21321 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
21324 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
21327 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
21328 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
21331 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
21332 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
21335 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
21336 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
21339 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
21340 timeout for all commands.
21343 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
21344 It should go somewhere else.
21347 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
21348 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
21349 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
21351 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21352 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21354 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21355 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21362 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21363 --text follows this line--
21364 Sorry I killfiled you...
21366 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21368 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21373 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21377 - Edit article's summary line.
21379 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21381 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21387 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21391 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21392 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21396 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21399 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21402 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21403 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21404 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21405 turn into a [-] button.)
21408 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21409 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21410 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21411 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21414 Handle external-body parts.
21417 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21421 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21424 (body "whatever.text")
21428 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21431 Solve the halting problem.
21440 @section The Manual
21444 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21445 either @code{texi2dvi}
21447 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21448 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21450 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21452 The following conventions have been used:
21457 This is a @samp{string}
21460 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21463 This is a @file{file}
21466 This is a @code{symbol}
21470 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21474 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21477 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21480 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21483 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21484 ever get them confused.
21488 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21489 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21490 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21491 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21492 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21493 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21494 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21500 @node On Writing Manuals
21501 @section On Writing Manuals
21503 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21504 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21505 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21506 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21507 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21508 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21511 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21512 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21513 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21516 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21517 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21522 @section Terminology
21524 @cindex terminology
21529 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21530 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21531 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21532 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21533 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21537 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21538 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21539 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21540 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21544 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21548 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21553 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21554 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21555 is all done by the backends.
21559 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21560 default, way of getting news.
21564 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21565 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21570 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21571 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21575 A message that has been posted as news.
21578 @cindex mail message
21579 A message that has been mailed.
21583 A mail message or news article
21587 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21592 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21597 A line from the head of an article.
21601 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21602 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21606 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21607 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21608 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21609 normal @sc{head} format.
21613 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21614 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21615 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21616 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21617 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21618 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21620 @item killed groups
21621 @cindex killed groups
21622 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21623 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21625 @item zombie groups
21626 @cindex zombie groups
21627 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21630 @cindex active file
21631 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21632 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21633 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21636 @cindex bogus groups
21637 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21638 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21639 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21642 @cindex activating groups
21643 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21644 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21645 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21649 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21651 @item select method
21652 @cindex select method
21653 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21656 @item virtual server
21657 @cindex virtual server
21658 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21659 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21660 whole is a virtual server.
21664 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21665 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21668 @item ephemeral groups
21669 @cindex ephemeral groups
21670 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21671 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21672 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21675 @cindex solid groups
21676 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21677 group buffer are solid groups.
21679 @item sparse articles
21680 @cindex sparse articles
21681 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21682 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21686 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21687 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21691 @cindex thread root
21692 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21693 articles in the thread.
21697 An article that has responses.
21701 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21705 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21706 specified by RFC 1153.
21712 @node Customization
21713 @section Customization
21714 @cindex general customization
21716 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21717 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21718 for some quite common situations.
21721 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21722 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21723 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21724 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21728 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21729 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21731 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21732 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21733 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21737 @item gnus-read-active-file
21738 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21739 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21740 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21741 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21742 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21744 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21745 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21746 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21747 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21751 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21752 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21754 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21755 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21756 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21760 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21761 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21762 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21763 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21764 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21766 @item gnus-visible-headers
21767 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21768 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21769 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21770 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21772 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21774 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21775 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21776 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21779 @item gnus-use-full-window
21780 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21781 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21782 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21783 want to read them anyway.
21785 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21786 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21789 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21790 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21791 lines, which might save some time.
21795 @node Little Disk Space
21796 @subsection Little Disk Space
21799 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21800 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21804 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21805 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21806 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21807 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21810 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21811 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21812 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21813 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21816 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21817 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21818 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21819 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21820 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21826 @subsection Slow Machine
21827 @cindex slow machine
21829 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21830 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21832 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21833 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21835 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21836 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21837 summary buffer faster.
21841 @node Troubleshooting
21842 @section Troubleshooting
21843 @cindex troubleshooting
21845 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21853 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21856 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21857 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21861 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21862 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21863 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21864 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21867 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21871 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21872 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21873 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21874 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21875 something like that.
21878 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21881 @cindex reporting bugs
21883 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21885 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21886 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21887 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21888 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21890 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21891 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21892 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21893 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21896 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21897 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21898 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21899 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21900 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21901 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21903 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21904 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21905 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21908 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21909 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21911 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21912 @cindex ding mailing list
21913 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21914 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21918 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21919 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21921 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21922 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21923 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21924 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21927 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21928 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21929 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21930 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21931 and general methods of operation.
21934 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21935 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21936 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21937 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21938 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21939 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21940 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21941 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21942 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21946 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21947 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21948 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21949 @cindex utility functions
21951 @cindex internal variables
21953 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21954 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21955 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21959 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21960 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21961 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21963 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21964 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21965 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21967 @item gnus-group-real-name
21968 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21969 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21972 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21973 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21974 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21975 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21977 @item gnus-get-info
21978 @findex gnus-get-info
21979 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21981 @item gnus-group-unread
21982 @findex gnus-group-unread
21983 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21987 @findex gnus-active
21988 The active entry for @var{group}.
21990 @item gnus-set-active
21991 @findex gnus-set-active
21992 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21994 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21995 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21996 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21999 @item gnus-continuum-version
22000 @findex gnus-continuum-version
22001 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
22002 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
22005 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
22006 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
22007 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22009 @item gnus-news-group-p
22010 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22011 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
22013 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22014 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22015 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22017 @item gnus-server-to-method
22018 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22019 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22021 @item gnus-server-equal
22022 @findex gnus-server-equal
22023 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22025 @item gnus-group-native-p
22026 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22027 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22029 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22030 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22031 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22033 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22034 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22035 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22037 @item group-group-find-parameter
22038 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22039 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22040 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22042 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22043 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22044 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22046 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22047 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22048 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22050 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22051 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22052 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
22053 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22056 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22060 @item gnus-read-method
22061 @findex gnus-read-method
22062 Prompts the user for a select method.
22067 @node Backend Interface
22068 @subsection Backend Interface
22070 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22071 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22072 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
22073 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22074 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22075 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22077 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
22078 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22079 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
22080 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22081 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22082 been opened, the function should fail.
22084 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22085 name. Take this example:
22089 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22090 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22093 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22094 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22096 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22097 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22098 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22100 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22101 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22102 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22104 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22105 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22106 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22107 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22108 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22109 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22112 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
22113 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
22114 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22115 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22118 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
22121 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22124 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22125 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22126 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22127 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
22128 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22129 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
22133 @node Required Backend Functions
22134 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
22138 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22140 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22141 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
22142 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
22143 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22145 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22146 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22147 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22148 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22150 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22151 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22152 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22153 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22154 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
22155 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22156 number, do maximum fetches.
22158 Here's an example HEAD:
22161 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22162 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22163 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22164 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22165 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22166 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22167 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22169 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22170 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22171 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22175 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22176 these in the data buffer.
22178 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22182 head = error / valid-head
22183 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22184 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22185 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22186 header = <text> eol
22189 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22190 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22194 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22195 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22196 field = <text except TAB>
22199 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22203 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22205 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22206 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22208 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
22209 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22210 server. In fact, it should do so.
22212 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22213 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22216 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22218 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22219 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22222 There should be no data returned.
22225 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22227 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
22228 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
22229 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22230 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22232 There should be no data returned.
22235 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22237 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22238 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22239 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22240 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22242 There should be no data returned.
22245 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22247 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22249 There should be no data returned.
22252 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22254 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22255 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22256 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22257 it would be nice if that were possible.
22259 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22260 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22261 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22262 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22263 into its article buffer.
22265 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22266 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22267 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22268 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22269 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22270 on successful article retrieval.
22273 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22275 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22276 making @var{group} the current group.
22278 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22281 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22284 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22287 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22288 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22289 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22290 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22291 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22292 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22293 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22294 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22297 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22298 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22299 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22303 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22305 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22306 a no-op on most backends.
22308 There should be no data returned.
22311 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22313 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22316 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22319 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22320 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22323 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22324 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22327 active-file = *active-line
22328 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22330 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22333 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22334 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22335 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22338 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22340 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22341 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22342 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22343 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22344 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22345 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22347 There should be no result data from this function.
22352 @node Optional Backend Functions
22353 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22357 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22359 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22360 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22361 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22363 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22364 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22365 former is in the same format as the data from
22366 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22367 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22370 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22374 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22376 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22377 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22378 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22379 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22380 should return the (altered) group info.
22382 There should be no result data from this function.
22385 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22387 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22388 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22389 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22390 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22391 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22392 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22393 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22394 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22396 There should be no result data from this function.
22399 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22401 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22402 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22403 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22404 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22405 propagate the mark information to the server.
22407 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22410 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22413 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22414 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22415 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22416 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22417 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22418 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22419 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22420 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22421 not limit itself to these.
22423 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22424 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22425 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22426 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22428 An example action list:
22431 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22432 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22433 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22436 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22437 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22439 There should be no result data from this function.
22441 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22443 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22444 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22445 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22446 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22447 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22449 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22450 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22451 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22454 There should be no result data from this function.
22457 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22459 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22460 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22461 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22462 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22463 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22464 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22465 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22467 There should be no result data from this function.
22470 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22472 The result data from this function should be a description of
22476 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22478 description = <text>
22481 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22483 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22484 groups available on the server.
22487 description-buffer = *description-line
22491 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22493 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22494 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22495 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22498 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22500 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22502 There should be no return data.
22505 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22507 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22508 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22509 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22510 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22511 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22514 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22517 There should be no result data returned.
22520 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22523 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22524 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22526 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22527 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22528 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22529 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22530 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22531 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22533 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22534 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22537 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22538 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22540 There should be no data returned.
22543 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22545 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22546 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22547 this function in short order.
22549 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22550 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22552 There should be no data returned.
22555 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22557 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22558 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22560 There should be no data returned.
22563 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22565 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22566 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22567 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22569 There should be no data returned.
22572 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22574 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22575 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22577 There should be no data returned.
22582 @node Error Messaging
22583 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22585 @findex nnheader-report
22586 @findex nnheader-get-report
22587 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22588 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22589 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22590 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22591 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22592 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22595 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22597 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22600 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22601 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22602 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22603 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22605 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22606 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22607 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22610 @node Writing New Backends
22611 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22613 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22614 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22615 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22616 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22617 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22620 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22621 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22622 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22624 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22625 package called @code{nnoo}.
22627 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22628 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22634 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22635 parameters. For instance:
22638 (nnoo-declare nndir
22642 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22643 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22646 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22647 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22648 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22650 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22651 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22652 a function in those backends.
22655 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22656 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22657 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22660 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22661 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22662 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22664 @item nnoo-define-basics
22665 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22669 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22673 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22674 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22675 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22677 @item nnoo-map-functions
22678 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22679 functions from the parent backends.
22682 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22683 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22684 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22687 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22688 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22689 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22690 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22693 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22694 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22695 haven't already been defined.
22701 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22705 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22706 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22707 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22712 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22715 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22716 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22720 (require 'nnheader)
22724 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22726 (nnoo-declare nndir
22729 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22730 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22731 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22733 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22734 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22737 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22738 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22739 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22741 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22742 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22744 ;;; Interface functions.
22746 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22748 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22749 (setq nndir-directory
22750 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22752 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22753 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22754 (push `(nndir-current-group
22755 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22757 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22758 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22760 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22762 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22763 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22764 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22765 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22766 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22770 nnmh-status-message
22772 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22778 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22779 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22781 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22782 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22783 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22784 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22786 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22787 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22792 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22795 The abilities can be:
22799 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22801 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22803 This backend supports both mail and news.
22805 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22808 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22809 articles and groups.
22811 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22812 true for almost all backends.
22813 @item prompt-address
22814 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22815 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22816 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22820 @node Mail-like Backends
22821 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22823 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22824 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22825 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22826 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22829 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22830 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22831 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22834 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22835 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22838 This function takes four parameters.
22842 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22845 @item exit-function
22846 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22848 @item temp-directory
22849 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22852 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22853 performed for one group only.
22856 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22857 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22858 find the article number assigned to this article.
22860 The function also uses the following variables:
22861 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22862 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22863 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22864 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22868 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22869 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22873 @node Score File Syntax
22874 @subsection Score File Syntax
22876 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22877 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22878 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22880 Here's a typical score file:
22884 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22891 BNF definition of a score file:
22894 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22895 element = rule / atom
22896 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22897 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22898 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22899 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22901 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22902 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22903 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22904 date-header = "date"
22905 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22906 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22907 score = "nil" / <integer>
22908 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22909 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22910 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22911 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22912 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22913 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22914 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22915 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22916 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22917 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22918 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22919 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22920 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22921 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22922 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22923 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22924 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22925 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22926 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22927 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22928 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22929 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22930 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22931 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22932 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22933 eval = "eval" space <form>
22934 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22937 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22940 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22941 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22942 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22943 one looong line, then that's ok.
22945 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22946 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22950 @subsection Headers
22952 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22953 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22954 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22955 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22957 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22958 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22959 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22960 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22961 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22962 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22963 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22965 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22966 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22967 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22968 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22969 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22971 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22972 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22978 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22979 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22981 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22982 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22983 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22984 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22986 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22990 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22993 is transformed into
22996 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22999 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23000 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23003 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23006 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23007 is slightly tricky:
23010 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23016 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23019 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23025 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23032 and is equal to the previous range.
23034 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23035 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23036 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23040 range = simple-range / normal-range
23041 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23042 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23043 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23044 number *[ " " contents ]
23047 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23048 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23049 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23050 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23051 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23056 @subsection Group Info
23058 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23059 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23060 describes the group.
23062 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23063 second is a more complex one:
23066 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23068 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23069 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23071 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23074 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23075 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23076 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23077 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23078 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23079 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23080 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23081 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23082 this section is about.
23084 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23085 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23086 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23088 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23091 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23092 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23093 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23094 group = quote <string> quote
23095 ralevel = rank / level
23096 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23097 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23098 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23100 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23101 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23102 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23103 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23106 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23107 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23110 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23111 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23114 @item gnus-info-group
23115 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23116 @findex gnus-info-group
23117 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23118 Get/set the group name.
23120 @item gnus-info-rank
23121 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23122 @findex gnus-info-rank
23123 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23124 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23126 @item gnus-info-level
23127 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23128 @findex gnus-info-level
23129 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23130 Get/set the group level.
23132 @item gnus-info-score
23133 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23134 @findex gnus-info-score
23135 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23136 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23138 @item gnus-info-read
23139 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23140 @findex gnus-info-read
23141 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23142 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23144 @item gnus-info-marks
23145 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23146 @findex gnus-info-marks
23147 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23148 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23150 @item gnus-info-method
23151 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23152 @findex gnus-info-method
23153 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23154 Get/set the group select method.
23156 @item gnus-info-params
23157 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23158 @findex gnus-info-params
23159 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23160 Get/set the group parameters.
23163 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23164 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23166 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23167 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23168 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23169 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23172 @node Extended Interactive
23173 @subsection Extended Interactive
23174 @cindex interactive
23175 @findex gnus-interactive
23177 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23178 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23179 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23182 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23183 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23188 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23189 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23190 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23191 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23192 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23193 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23194 @code{interactive}.
23196 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23201 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23202 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23206 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23207 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23208 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23211 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23215 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23219 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23225 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23226 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23230 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23231 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23232 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23234 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23235 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23236 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23237 Gnus, that's very useful.
23239 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23240 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23241 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23242 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23243 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23244 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23245 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23246 following function:
23249 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23253 (,function ,@@args))
23257 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23258 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23259 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23262 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23263 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23264 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23266 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23267 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23268 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23271 @node Various File Formats
23272 @subsection Various File Formats
23275 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23276 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23280 @node Active File Format
23281 @subsubsection Active File Format
23283 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23284 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23287 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23290 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23291 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23292 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23293 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23294 no.general 1000 900 y
23297 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23300 active = *group-line
23301 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
23302 group = <non-white-space string>
23304 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23305 low-number = <positive integer>
23306 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23309 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23310 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23313 @node Newsgroups File Format
23314 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23316 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23317 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23318 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23321 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23322 Here's the definition:
23326 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23327 group = <non-white-space string>
23329 description = <string>
23334 @node Emacs for Heathens
23335 @section Emacs for Heathens
23337 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23338 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23339 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23340 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23341 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23342 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23343 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23347 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23348 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23353 @subsection Keystrokes
23357 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23360 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23363 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23364 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23365 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23366 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23367 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23368 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23370 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23371 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23372 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23373 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23374 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23375 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23376 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23378 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23379 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23380 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23381 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23382 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23383 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23384 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23386 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23387 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23388 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23389 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23390 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23396 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23398 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23399 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23400 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23401 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23403 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23404 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23405 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23406 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23407 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23408 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23409 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23412 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23413 write the following:
23416 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23419 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23420 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23421 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23424 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23425 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23426 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23427 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23428 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23430 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23431 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23432 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23436 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23440 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23443 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23444 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23447 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23450 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23451 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23454 @include gnus-faq.texi
23475 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23476 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23477 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23478 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23479 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref