10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The Gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
396 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
397 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
399 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
400 being accused of plagiarism:
402 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
403 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
404 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
405 can even read news with it!
407 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
408 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
409 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
410 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
411 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
417 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
418 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
419 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
420 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
421 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
422 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
423 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
424 * Various:: General purpose settings.
425 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
426 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
427 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
428 * Key Index:: Key Index.
431 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
435 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
436 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
437 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
438 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
439 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
440 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
443 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
444 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
445 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
449 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
450 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
451 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
455 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
456 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
457 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
458 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
459 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
460 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
461 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
462 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
463 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
464 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
465 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
466 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
467 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
468 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
469 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
470 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
471 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
475 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
476 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
477 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
483 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
484 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
485 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
489 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
490 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
491 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
492 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
493 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
497 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
498 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
499 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
500 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
501 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
502 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
503 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
504 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
505 * Threading:: How threads are made.
506 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
507 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
508 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
509 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
510 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
511 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
512 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
513 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
514 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
515 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
516 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
517 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
518 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
519 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
520 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
521 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
522 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
523 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
524 or reselecting the current group.
525 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
526 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
527 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
528 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
530 Summary Buffer Format
532 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
533 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
534 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
535 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
542 Reply, Followup and Post
544 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
545 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
546 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
547 * Canceling and Superseding::
551 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
552 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
553 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
555 * Generic Marking Commands::
556 * Setting Process Marks::
560 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
561 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
562 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
569 Customizing Threading
571 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
572 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
573 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
574 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
578 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
579 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
580 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
581 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
582 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
583 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
587 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
588 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
589 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
593 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
594 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
595 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
596 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
597 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
598 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
599 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
600 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
601 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
602 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
604 Alternative Approaches
606 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
607 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
609 Various Summary Stuff
611 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
612 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
613 * Summary Generation Commands::
614 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
618 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
619 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
620 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
621 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
622 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
626 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
627 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
628 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
629 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
630 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
631 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
632 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
633 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
637 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
638 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
642 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
643 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
669 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
670 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
671 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
672 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
673 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
674 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
675 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
676 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
677 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
678 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
679 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
680 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
681 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
685 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
686 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
687 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
689 Choosing a Mail Back End
691 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
692 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
693 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
694 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
695 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
696 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
701 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
702 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
703 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
704 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
705 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
706 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
710 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
711 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
712 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
716 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
717 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
718 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
719 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
720 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
724 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
728 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
729 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
730 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
734 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
735 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
739 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
740 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
741 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
742 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
743 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
744 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
745 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
746 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
747 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
748 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
749 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
753 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
754 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
755 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
759 * Group Agent Commands::
760 * Summary Agent Commands::
761 * Server Agent Commands::
765 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
766 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
767 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
768 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
769 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
770 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
771 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
772 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
773 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
774 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
775 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
776 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
777 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
778 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
779 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
785 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
786 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
787 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
788 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
792 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
793 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
794 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
798 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
799 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
800 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
801 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
802 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
803 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
804 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
805 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
806 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
807 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
808 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
809 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
810 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
811 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
812 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
813 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
814 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
815 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
816 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
820 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
821 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
822 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
823 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
824 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
825 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
826 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
827 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
831 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
832 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
833 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
834 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
835 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
839 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
840 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
841 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
842 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
843 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
847 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
848 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
849 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
853 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
854 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
855 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
856 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
857 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
858 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
859 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
860 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
861 * Frequently Asked Questions::
865 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
866 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
867 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
868 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
869 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
870 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
871 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
872 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
873 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
877 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
878 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
879 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
880 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
881 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
885 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
886 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
887 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
888 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
892 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
893 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
894 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
895 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
896 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
897 * Group Info:: The group info format.
898 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
899 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
900 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
904 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
905 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
906 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
907 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
908 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
909 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
913 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
914 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
918 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
919 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
925 @chapter Starting Gnus
930 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
931 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
934 @findex gnus-other-frame
935 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
936 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
937 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
939 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
940 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
941 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
943 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
944 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
947 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
948 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
949 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
950 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
951 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
952 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
953 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
954 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
955 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
956 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
957 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
961 @node Finding the News
962 @section Finding the News
965 @vindex gnus-select-method
967 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
968 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
969 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
970 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
973 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
974 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
977 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
980 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
983 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
986 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
987 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
988 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
990 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
992 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
993 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
994 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
995 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
996 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
997 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
999 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1000 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1001 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1002 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1004 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1005 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1006 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1007 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1008 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1009 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1010 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1011 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1012 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1015 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1017 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1018 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1019 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1020 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1021 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1022 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1024 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1026 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1027 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1028 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1029 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1030 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1031 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1034 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1035 you would typically set this variable to
1038 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1042 @node The First Time
1043 @section The First Time
1044 @cindex first time usage
1046 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1047 be subscribed by default.
1049 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1050 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1051 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1052 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1055 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1056 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1057 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1059 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1060 help you with most common problems.
1062 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1063 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1067 @node The Server is Down
1068 @section The Server is Down
1069 @cindex server errors
1071 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1072 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1073 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1075 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1076 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1077 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1078 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1079 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1080 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1081 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1083 @findex gnus-no-server
1084 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1086 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1087 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1088 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1089 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1090 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1091 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1092 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1096 @section Slave Gnusae
1099 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1100 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1101 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1102 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1104 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1105 @code{.newsrc} file.
1107 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1108 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1109 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1110 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1111 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1112 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1113 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1115 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1116 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1117 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1118 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1119 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1120 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1121 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1122 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1124 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1125 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1127 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1128 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1129 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1130 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1131 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1133 @node Fetching a Group
1134 @section Fetching a Group
1135 @cindex fetching a group
1137 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1138 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1139 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1140 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1141 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1142 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1148 @cindex subscription
1150 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1151 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1152 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1153 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1154 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1155 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1156 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1157 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1158 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1161 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1162 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1163 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1167 @node Checking New Groups
1168 @subsection Checking New Groups
1170 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1171 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1172 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1173 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1174 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1175 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1176 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1177 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1178 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1179 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1181 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1182 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1183 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1184 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1185 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1186 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1187 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1188 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1189 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1190 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1191 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1193 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1194 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1195 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1196 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1197 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1198 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1201 @node Subscription Methods
1202 @subsection Subscription Methods
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1205 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1206 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1208 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1209 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1211 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1217 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1218 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1219 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1223 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1224 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1226 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1228 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1230 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1231 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1232 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1233 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1234 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1235 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1236 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1237 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1238 up. Or something like that.
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1242 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1243 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1244 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1248 Kill all new groups.
1250 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1251 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1252 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1253 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1254 topic parameter that looks like
1260 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1263 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1269 A closely related variable is
1270 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1271 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1272 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1273 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1276 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1277 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1278 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1279 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1282 @node Filtering New Groups
1283 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1285 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1286 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1287 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1290 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1293 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1294 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1295 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1296 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1297 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1298 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1299 subscribing these groups.
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1301 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1303 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1304 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1305 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1306 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1307 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1308 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1309 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1310 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1312 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1313 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1314 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1315 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1316 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1317 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1318 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1319 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1320 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1321 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1324 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1325 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1328 @node Changing Servers
1329 @section Changing Servers
1330 @cindex changing servers
1332 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1333 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1334 very flaky and you want to use another.
1336 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1337 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1341 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1342 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1343 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1344 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1347 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1348 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1349 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1350 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1352 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1353 @findex gnus-change-server
1354 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1355 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1356 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1357 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1358 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1360 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1361 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1362 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1363 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1364 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1367 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1368 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1369 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1370 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1371 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1375 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1376 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1378 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1379 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1380 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1381 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1382 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1383 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1384 cache for all groups).
1388 @section Startup Files
1389 @cindex startup files
1394 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1395 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1397 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1398 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1399 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1400 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1401 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1402 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1403 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1405 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1406 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1407 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1408 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1409 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1410 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1412 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1413 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1414 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1415 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1416 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1417 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1418 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1419 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1420 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1421 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1423 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1424 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1425 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1426 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1427 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1428 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1429 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1430 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1431 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1432 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1433 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1434 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1436 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1437 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1438 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1439 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1441 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1442 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1443 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1444 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1445 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1446 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1447 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1448 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1449 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1450 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1453 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1454 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1456 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1457 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1460 @vindex gnus-init-file
1461 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1462 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1463 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1464 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1465 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1466 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1467 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1468 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1469 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1475 @cindex dribble file
1478 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1479 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1480 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1481 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1482 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1485 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1486 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1489 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1490 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1491 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1493 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1494 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1495 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1496 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1497 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1498 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1500 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1501 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1502 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1505 @node The Active File
1506 @section The Active File
1508 @cindex ignored groups
1510 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1511 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1512 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1514 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1515 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1516 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1517 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1518 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1519 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1520 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1523 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1524 @c if you set it to anything else.
1526 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1528 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1529 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1530 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1532 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1533 you actually subscribe to.
1535 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1536 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1537 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1538 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1540 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1541 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1542 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1543 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1544 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1545 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1547 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1548 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1549 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1552 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1553 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1554 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1555 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1556 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1557 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1559 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1560 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1562 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1563 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1565 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1566 secondary select methods.
1569 @node Startup Variables
1570 @section Startup Variables
1574 @item gnus-load-hook
1575 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1576 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1577 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1578 times you start Gnus.
1580 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1582 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1584 @item gnus-startup-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1586 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1588 @item gnus-started-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1590 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1593 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1594 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1595 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1596 generating the group buffer.
1598 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1599 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1600 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1601 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1602 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1603 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1604 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1605 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1607 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1608 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1609 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1610 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1611 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1612 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1614 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1615 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1616 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1618 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1619 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1620 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1622 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1623 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1624 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1625 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1631 @chapter Group Buffer
1632 @cindex group buffer
1634 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1636 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1637 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1638 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1639 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1640 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1641 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1642 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1643 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1644 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1645 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1646 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1647 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1648 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1649 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1650 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1651 @c human rights at 9...
1654 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1655 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1656 long as Gnus is active.
1660 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1661 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1662 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1663 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1664 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1665 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1666 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1667 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1673 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1674 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1675 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1676 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1677 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1678 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1679 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1680 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1681 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1682 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1683 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1684 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1685 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1686 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1687 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1688 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1689 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1693 @node Group Buffer Format
1694 @section Group Buffer Format
1697 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1698 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1699 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1703 @node Group Line Specification
1704 @subsection Group Line Specification
1705 @cindex group buffer format
1707 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1708 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1710 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1713 25: news.announce.newusers
1714 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1719 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1720 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1721 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1722 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1724 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1725 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1726 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1727 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1728 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1729 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1731 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1733 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1734 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1735 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1736 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1737 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1739 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1740 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1741 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1743 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1748 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1751 Whether the group is subscribed.
1754 Level of subscribedness.
1757 Number of unread articles.
1760 Number of dormant articles.
1763 Number of ticked articles.
1766 Number of read articles.
1769 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1770 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1772 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1773 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1774 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1775 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1776 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1777 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1778 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1779 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1782 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1785 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1794 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1795 comment element in the group parameters.
1798 Newsgroup description.
1801 @samp{m} if moderated.
1804 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1813 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1817 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1820 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1821 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1822 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1823 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1824 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1827 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1829 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1833 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1836 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1840 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1841 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1842 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1843 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1844 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1845 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1850 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1851 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1852 group, or a bogus native group.
1855 @node Group Modeline Specification
1856 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1857 @cindex group modeline
1859 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1860 The mode line can be changed by setting
1861 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1862 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1866 The native news server.
1868 The native select method.
1872 @node Group Highlighting
1873 @subsection Group Highlighting
1874 @cindex highlighting
1875 @cindex group highlighting
1877 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1878 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1879 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1880 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1881 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1883 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1887 (cond (window-system
1888 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1889 (defface my-group-face-1
1890 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1891 (defface my-group-face-2
1892 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1893 (defface my-group-face-3
1894 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1895 (defface my-group-face-4
1896 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-5
1898 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1900 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1901 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1902 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1903 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1904 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1905 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1908 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1910 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1917 The number of unread articles in the group.
1921 Whether the group is a mail group.
1923 The level of the group.
1925 The score of the group.
1927 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1929 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1930 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1932 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1933 topic being inserted.
1936 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1937 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1938 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1940 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1941 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1942 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1943 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1944 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1947 @node Group Maneuvering
1948 @section Group Maneuvering
1949 @cindex group movement
1951 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1952 expected, hopefully.
1958 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1959 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1960 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1966 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1967 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1968 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1972 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1973 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1978 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1982 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1983 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1984 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1988 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1989 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1990 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1993 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1999 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2000 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2001 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2006 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2007 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2008 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2012 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2013 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2014 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2017 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2018 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2019 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2020 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2024 @node Selecting a Group
2025 @section Selecting a Group
2026 @cindex group selection
2031 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2032 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2033 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2034 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2035 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2036 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2037 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2038 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2039 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2040 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2042 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2043 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2044 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2046 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2047 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2052 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2053 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2054 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2055 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2056 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2060 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2062 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2063 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2064 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2065 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2066 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2067 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2068 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2069 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2072 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2073 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2074 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2075 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2076 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2079 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2081 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2082 doing any processing of its contents
2083 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2084 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2085 manner will have no permanent effects.
2089 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2090 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2091 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2092 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2093 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2094 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2095 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2096 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2099 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2100 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2101 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2102 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2103 Which article this is is controlled by the
2104 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2110 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2113 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2116 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2118 @item unseen-or-unread
2119 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2120 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2124 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2128 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2129 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2131 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2132 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2133 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2134 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2138 @node Subscription Commands
2139 @section Subscription Commands
2140 @cindex subscription
2148 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2149 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2150 Toggle subscription to the current group
2151 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2157 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2158 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2159 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2160 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2166 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2167 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2168 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2174 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2175 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2178 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2179 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2180 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2181 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2182 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2188 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2189 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2193 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2194 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2197 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2198 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2199 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2200 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2201 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2202 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2203 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2204 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2205 @file{.newsrc} file.
2209 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2219 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2220 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2221 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2222 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2223 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2224 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2229 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2230 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2231 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2236 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2237 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2239 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2240 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2241 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2242 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2243 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2244 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2251 @section Group Levels
2255 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2256 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2257 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2258 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2259 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2261 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2267 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2268 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2269 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2270 prompted for a level.
2273 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2274 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2275 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2276 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2277 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2278 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2279 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2280 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2281 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2282 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2283 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2284 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2285 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2286 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2287 reasons of efficiency.
2289 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2290 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2292 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2293 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2294 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2295 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2296 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2297 groups are hidden, in a way.
2299 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2300 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2301 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2302 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2303 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2304 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2306 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2307 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2308 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2309 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2310 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2311 list of killed groups.)
2313 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2314 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2315 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2317 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2318 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2319 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2320 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2321 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2322 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2323 relevant valid ranges.
2325 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2326 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2327 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2328 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2329 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2330 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2333 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2334 one with the best level.
2336 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2337 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2338 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2341 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2342 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2343 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2344 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2347 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2348 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2349 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2350 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2352 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2353 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2354 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2355 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2356 to 5. The default is 6.
2360 @section Group Score
2365 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2366 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2367 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2370 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2371 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2372 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2373 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2374 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2375 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2376 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2377 least significant part.))
2379 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2380 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2381 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2382 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2383 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2384 action after each summary exit, you can add
2385 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2386 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2387 slow things down somewhat.
2390 @node Marking Groups
2391 @section Marking Groups
2392 @cindex marking groups
2394 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2395 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2396 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2397 bidding on those groups.
2399 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2400 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2401 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2409 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2410 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2416 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2417 Remove the mark from the current group
2418 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2422 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2423 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2427 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2428 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2432 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2433 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2437 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2438 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2439 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2442 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2444 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2445 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2446 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2447 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2448 the command to be executed.
2451 @node Foreign Groups
2452 @section Foreign Groups
2453 @cindex foreign groups
2455 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2456 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2457 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2458 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2465 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2466 @cindex making groups
2467 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2468 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2469 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2473 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2474 @cindex renaming groups
2475 Rename the current group to something else
2476 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2477 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2483 @findex gnus-group-customize
2484 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2489 @cindex renaming groups
2490 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2491 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2496 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2497 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2502 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2503 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2507 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2509 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2510 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2515 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2516 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2520 @cindex (ding) archive
2521 @cindex archive group
2522 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2523 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2524 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2525 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2526 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2527 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2528 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2532 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2534 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2535 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2536 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2537 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2541 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2543 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2544 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2545 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2549 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2550 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2552 Make a group based on some file or other
2553 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2554 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2555 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2556 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2557 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2558 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2559 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2560 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2561 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2565 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2566 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2567 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2568 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2572 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2576 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2577 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2578 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2579 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2580 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2581 @xref{Web Searches}.
2583 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2584 to a particular group by using a match string like
2585 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2588 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2589 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2590 This function will delete the current group
2591 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2592 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2593 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2594 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2595 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2600 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2601 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2605 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2606 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2607 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2610 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2613 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2614 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2615 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2616 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2617 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2618 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2622 @node Group Parameters
2623 @section Group Parameters
2624 @cindex group parameters
2626 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2627 Here's an example group parameter list:
2630 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2634 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2635 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2636 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2637 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2639 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2640 is an alist of regexps and values.
2642 The following group parameters can be used:
2647 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2650 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2653 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2654 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2655 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2656 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2657 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2659 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2660 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2661 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2662 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2663 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2664 list address instead.
2666 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2670 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2673 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2676 It is totally ignored
2677 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2678 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2680 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2681 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2682 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2683 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2684 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2686 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2687 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2688 sending the message.
2690 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2691 @cindex Mail List Groups
2692 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2693 entering summary buffer.
2695 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2700 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2701 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2702 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2703 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2704 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2705 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2707 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2708 directly uses this group parameter.
2712 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2713 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2714 of whether it has any unread articles.
2716 @item broken-reply-to
2717 @cindex broken-reply-to
2718 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2719 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2720 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2721 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2722 broken behavior. So there!
2726 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2727 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2731 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2732 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2733 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2738 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2739 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2740 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2741 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2742 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2743 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2744 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2745 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2746 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2750 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2751 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2752 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2754 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2757 @cindex total-expire
2758 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2759 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2760 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2761 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2764 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2768 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2769 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2770 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2771 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2772 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2773 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2776 @cindex score file group parameter
2777 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2778 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2779 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2782 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2783 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2784 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2785 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2788 @cindex admin-address
2789 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2790 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2791 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2792 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2796 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2797 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2801 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2804 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2805 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2808 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2812 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2814 Here are some examples:
2818 Display only unread articles.
2821 Display everything except expirable articles.
2823 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2824 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2828 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2829 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2830 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2831 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2832 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2836 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2837 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2838 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2842 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2843 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2844 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2848 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2849 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2850 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2852 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2854 @item ignored-charsets
2855 @cindex ignored-charset
2856 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2857 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2858 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2860 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2863 @cindex posting-style
2864 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2865 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2866 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2867 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2868 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2870 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2871 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2872 like this in the group parameters:
2877 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2882 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2883 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2887 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2888 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2889 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2890 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2891 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2895 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2896 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2897 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2898 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2900 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2901 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2902 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2903 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2906 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2907 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2911 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2914 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2915 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2916 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2917 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2918 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2919 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2920 @code{eval}ed there.
2922 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2923 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2924 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2925 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2926 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2927 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2928 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2929 parameters for the group.
2932 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2933 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2934 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2935 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2936 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2940 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2941 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2942 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2943 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2944 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2946 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2947 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2951 (setq gnus-parameters
2953 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2954 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2955 (gnus-summary-line-format
2956 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2960 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2964 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2968 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2971 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2972 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2975 @node Listing Groups
2976 @section Listing Groups
2977 @cindex group listing
2979 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2987 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2988 List all groups that have unread articles
2989 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2990 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2991 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2992 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2999 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3000 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3001 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3002 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3003 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3004 unsubscribed groups).
3008 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3009 List all unread groups on a specific level
3010 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3011 with no unread articles.
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3016 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3017 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3018 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3023 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3024 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3028 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3029 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3030 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3034 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3035 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3039 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3040 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3041 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3042 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3043 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3044 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3045 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3046 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3050 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3051 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3052 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3056 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3057 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3058 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3062 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3063 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3068 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3072 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3073 List groups limited within the current selection
3074 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3078 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3079 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3083 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3084 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3088 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3089 @cindex visible group parameter
3090 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3091 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3092 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3093 get the same effect.
3095 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3096 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3097 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3098 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3099 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3102 @node Sorting Groups
3103 @section Sorting Groups
3104 @cindex sorting groups
3106 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3107 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3108 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3109 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3110 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3111 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3116 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3117 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3118 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3120 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3121 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3122 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3124 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3125 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3126 Sort by group level.
3128 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3130 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3132 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3133 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3134 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3135 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3137 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3138 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3139 Sort by number of unread articles.
3141 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3142 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3143 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3147 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3152 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3153 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3157 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3158 some sorting criteria:
3162 @kindex G S a (Group)
3163 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3164 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3165 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3168 @kindex G S u (Group)
3169 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3170 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3171 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3174 @kindex G S l (Group)
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3176 Sort the group buffer by group level
3177 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3180 @kindex G S v (Group)
3181 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3182 Sort the group buffer by group score
3183 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3186 @kindex G S r (Group)
3187 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3188 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3189 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3192 @kindex G S m (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3194 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3195 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3199 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3200 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3202 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3203 commands will sort in reverse order.
3205 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3209 @kindex G P a (Group)
3210 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3211 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3212 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3215 @kindex G P u (Group)
3216 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3217 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3218 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3221 @kindex G P l (Group)
3222 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3223 Sort the groups by group level
3224 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3227 @kindex G P v (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3229 Sort the groups by group score
3230 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3233 @kindex G P r (Group)
3234 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3235 Sort the groups by group rank
3236 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3239 @kindex G P m (Group)
3240 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3241 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3242 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3245 @kindex G P s (Group)
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3247 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3251 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3255 @node Group Maintenance
3256 @section Group Maintenance
3257 @cindex bogus groups
3262 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3263 Find bogus groups and delete them
3264 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3268 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3269 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3270 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3271 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3272 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3276 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3278 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3279 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3280 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3281 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3284 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3286 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3287 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3292 @node Browse Foreign Server
3293 @section Browse Foreign Server
3294 @cindex foreign servers
3295 @cindex browsing servers
3300 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3301 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3302 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3303 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3306 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3307 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3308 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3309 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3311 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3316 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3317 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3321 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3322 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3325 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3326 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3327 Enter the current group and display the first article
3328 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3331 @kindex RET (Browse)
3332 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3333 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3337 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3338 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3339 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3345 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3346 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3350 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3351 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3355 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3356 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3357 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3362 @section Exiting Gnus
3363 @cindex exiting Gnus
3365 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3370 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3371 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3372 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3373 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3377 @findex gnus-group-exit
3378 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3379 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3383 @findex gnus-group-quit
3384 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3385 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3388 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3389 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3390 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3391 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3392 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3397 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3398 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3399 trying to customize meta-variables.
3404 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3405 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3406 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3412 @section Group Topics
3415 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3416 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3417 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3418 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3419 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3420 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3424 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3425 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3436 2: alt.religion.emacs
3439 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3441 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3442 13: comp.sources.unix
3445 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3447 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3448 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3449 is a toggling command.)
3451 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3452 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3453 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3454 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3457 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3458 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3459 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3462 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3466 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3467 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3468 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3469 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3470 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3474 @node Topic Commands
3475 @subsection Topic Commands
3476 @cindex topic commands
3478 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3479 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3480 definitions slightly.
3482 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3483 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3484 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3485 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3486 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3487 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3489 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3496 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3497 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3498 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3502 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3504 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3505 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3506 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3507 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3510 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3511 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3512 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3513 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3517 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3518 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3519 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3520 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3526 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3527 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3528 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3532 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3533 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3534 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3537 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3538 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3539 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3540 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3541 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3543 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3544 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3548 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3549 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3556 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3558 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3559 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3560 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3561 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3562 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3563 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3567 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3573 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3574 Move the current group to some other topic
3575 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3576 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3580 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3581 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3585 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3586 Copy the current group to some other topic
3587 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3588 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3593 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3594 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3598 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3599 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3600 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3604 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3605 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3606 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3607 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3608 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3609 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3610 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3613 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3614 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3618 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3619 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3620 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3624 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3625 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3626 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3630 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3631 Toggle hiding empty topics
3632 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3636 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3637 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3638 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3641 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3642 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3643 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3644 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3647 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3648 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3649 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3650 expiry process (if any)
3651 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3655 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3656 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3659 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3660 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3661 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3665 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3666 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3667 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3670 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3671 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3672 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3675 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3676 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3677 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3681 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3682 @cindex group parameters
3683 @cindex topic parameters
3685 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3686 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3691 @node Topic Variables
3692 @subsection Topic Variables
3693 @cindex topic variables
3695 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3696 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3698 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3699 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3700 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3713 Number of groups in the topic.
3715 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3717 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3720 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3721 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3722 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3725 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3726 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3728 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3729 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3730 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3734 @subsection Topic Sorting
3735 @cindex topic sorting
3737 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3743 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3744 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3745 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3746 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3749 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3750 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3751 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3752 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3755 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3756 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3757 Sort the current topic by group level
3758 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3761 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3762 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3763 Sort the current topic by group score
3764 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3767 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3768 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3769 Sort the current topic by group rank
3770 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3773 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3774 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3775 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3779 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3781 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3786 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3787 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3788 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3793 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3794 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3798 @node Topic Topology
3799 @subsection Topic Topology
3800 @cindex topic topology
3803 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3809 2: alt.religion.emacs
3812 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3814 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3815 13: comp.sources.unix
3818 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3819 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3820 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3825 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3826 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3830 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3831 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3832 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3833 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3834 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3835 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3837 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3838 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3839 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3842 @node Topic Parameters
3843 @subsection Topic Parameters
3844 @cindex topic parameters
3846 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3847 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3848 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3850 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3855 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3856 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3857 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3860 @item subscribe-level
3861 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3862 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3863 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3867 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3868 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3869 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3870 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3876 2: alt.religion.emacs
3880 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3882 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3883 13: comp.sources.unix
3887 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3888 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3889 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3890 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3891 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3892 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3894 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3895 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3896 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3897 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3898 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3900 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3901 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3902 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3903 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3904 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3905 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3906 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3907 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3910 @node Misc Group Stuff
3911 @section Misc Group Stuff
3914 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3915 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3916 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3917 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3918 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3925 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3926 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3927 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3931 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3932 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3933 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3934 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3935 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3936 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3937 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3941 @findex gnus-group-mail
3942 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3943 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3944 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3945 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3949 @findex gnus-group-news
3950 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3951 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3952 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3954 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3955 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3956 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3957 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3958 for this to work though.
3962 Variables for the group buffer:
3966 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3967 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3968 is called after the group buffer has been
3971 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3972 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3973 is called after the group buffer is
3974 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3977 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3978 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3979 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3980 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3982 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3983 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3984 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3985 whether they are empty or not.
3987 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3988 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3989 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3990 non-ASCII group names.
3994 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3995 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3998 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3999 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4000 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4001 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4002 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4003 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4007 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4008 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4013 @node Scanning New Messages
4014 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4015 @cindex new messages
4016 @cindex scanning new news
4022 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4023 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4024 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4025 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4026 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4027 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4032 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4033 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4034 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4035 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4036 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4037 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4038 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4040 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4041 @cindex activating groups
4043 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4044 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4049 @findex gnus-group-restart
4050 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4051 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4052 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4056 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4057 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4059 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4060 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4064 @node Group Information
4065 @subsection Group Information
4066 @cindex group information
4067 @cindex information on groups
4074 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4075 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4078 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4079 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4080 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4081 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4082 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4083 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4084 for fetching the file.
4086 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4087 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4091 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4092 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4094 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4095 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Gnus will use
4096 @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of the charter.
4097 If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control messages for the
4098 group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4102 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4103 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4104 @cindex control message
4105 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4106 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}).
4108 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4109 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4110 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4113 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4114 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4115 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4119 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4121 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4122 @cindex describing groups
4123 @cindex group description
4124 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4125 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4126 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4130 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4131 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4132 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4139 @findex gnus-version
4140 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4144 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4145 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4148 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4151 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4152 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4156 @node Group Timestamp
4157 @subsection Group Timestamp
4159 @cindex group timestamps
4161 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4162 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4163 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4166 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4169 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4171 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4172 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4175 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4176 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4179 This will result in lines looking like:
4182 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4183 0: custom 19961002T012713
4186 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4187 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4191 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4192 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4195 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4196 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4200 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4201 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4202 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4203 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4205 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4211 @subsection File Commands
4212 @cindex file commands
4218 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4219 @vindex gnus-init-file
4220 @cindex reading init file
4221 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4222 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4226 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4227 @cindex saving .newsrc
4228 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4229 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4230 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4233 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4234 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4235 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4240 @node Sieve Commands
4241 @subsection Sieve Commands
4242 @cindex group sieve commands
4244 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4245 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4246 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4247 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4248 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4250 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4251 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4252 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4253 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4254 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4255 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4256 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4257 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4258 regenerate the Sieve script.
4260 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4261 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4262 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4263 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4264 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4265 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4266 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4267 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4268 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4269 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4272 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4273 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4278 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4284 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4285 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4286 @cindex generating sieve script
4287 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4288 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4292 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4293 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4294 @cindex updating sieve script
4295 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4296 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4297 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4302 @node Summary Buffer
4303 @chapter Summary Buffer
4304 @cindex summary buffer
4306 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4307 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4309 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4310 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4312 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4315 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4316 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4317 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4318 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4319 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4320 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4321 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4322 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4323 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4324 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4325 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4326 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4327 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4328 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4329 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4330 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4331 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4332 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4333 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4334 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4335 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4336 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4337 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4338 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4339 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4340 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4341 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4342 or reselecting the current group.
4343 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4344 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4345 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4346 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4350 @node Summary Buffer Format
4351 @section Summary Buffer Format
4352 @cindex summary buffer format
4356 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4357 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4358 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4364 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4365 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4366 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4367 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4370 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4371 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4372 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4373 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4374 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4375 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4376 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4377 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4378 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4379 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4380 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4383 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4384 'mail-extract-address-components)
4387 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4388 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4389 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4390 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4393 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4394 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4396 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4397 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4398 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4399 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4400 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4402 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4403 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4404 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4405 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4406 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4407 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4409 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4411 The following format specification characters and extended format
4412 specification(s) are understood:
4418 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4419 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4421 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4422 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4423 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4425 Full @code{From} header.
4427 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4429 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4432 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4433 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4434 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4435 may be more thorough.
4437 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4440 Number of lines in the article.
4442 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4443 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4445 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4446 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4448 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4450 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4453 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4454 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4456 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4457 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4459 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4460 for adopted articles.
4462 One space for each thread level.
4464 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4466 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4469 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4470 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4471 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4474 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4476 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4477 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4478 default level. If the difference between
4479 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4480 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4488 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4490 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4496 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4497 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4499 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4500 article has any children.
4506 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4507 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4509 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4510 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4511 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4512 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4513 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4514 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4517 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4518 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4519 There can only be one such area.
4521 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4522 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4523 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4524 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4525 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4526 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4528 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4529 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4531 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4534 @node To From Newsgroups
4535 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4539 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4540 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4541 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4542 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4543 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4547 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4548 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4549 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4553 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4554 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4557 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4558 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4561 @findex gnus-extra-header
4562 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4563 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4564 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4567 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4571 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4572 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4573 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4574 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4575 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4576 headers are used instead.
4580 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4581 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4582 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4583 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4584 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4585 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4587 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4588 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4589 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4590 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4592 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4596 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4598 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4599 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4600 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4601 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4605 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4608 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4609 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4612 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4613 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4614 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4620 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4621 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4624 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4625 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4627 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4628 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4629 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4630 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4632 Here are the elements you can play with:
4638 Unprefixed group name.
4640 Current article number.
4642 Current article score.
4646 Number of unread articles in this group.
4648 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4651 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4652 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4653 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4654 and no unselected ones.
4656 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4657 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4659 Subject of the current article.
4661 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4663 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4665 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4667 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4669 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4671 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4675 @node Summary Highlighting
4676 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4680 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4681 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4682 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4683 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4684 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4686 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4687 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4688 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4689 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4691 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4692 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4693 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4694 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4696 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4698 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4699 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4700 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4701 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4704 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4705 ((> score default) . bold))
4707 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4708 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4712 @node Summary Maneuvering
4713 @section Summary Maneuvering
4714 @cindex summary movement
4716 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4717 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4719 None of these commands select articles.
4724 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4725 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4726 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4727 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4728 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4732 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4733 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4734 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4735 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4736 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4739 @kindex G g (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4741 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4742 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4745 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4746 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4747 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4748 to the group buffer.
4750 Variables related to summary movement:
4754 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4755 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4756 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4757 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4758 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4759 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4760 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4761 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4762 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4763 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4764 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4765 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4766 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4767 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4769 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4770 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4771 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4772 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4773 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4774 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4775 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4777 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4779 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4780 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4781 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4782 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4783 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4785 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4786 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4787 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4788 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4789 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4790 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4791 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4792 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4795 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4796 the given number of lines from the top.
4801 @node Choosing Articles
4802 @section Choosing Articles
4803 @cindex selecting articles
4806 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4807 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4811 @node Choosing Commands
4812 @subsection Choosing Commands
4814 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4815 and they all select and display an article.
4817 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4818 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4822 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4823 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4824 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4825 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4830 @kindex G n (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4832 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4833 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4838 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4839 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4840 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4845 @kindex G N (Summary)
4846 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4847 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4852 @kindex G P (Summary)
4853 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4854 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4857 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4859 Go to the next article with the same subject
4860 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4863 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4864 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4865 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4866 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4870 @kindex G f (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4873 Go to the first unread article
4874 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4878 @kindex G b (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4881 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4883 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4888 @kindex G l (Summary)
4889 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4890 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4893 @kindex G o (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4896 @cindex article history
4897 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4898 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4899 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4900 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4901 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4902 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4907 @kindex G j (Summary)
4908 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4909 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4910 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4915 @node Choosing Variables
4916 @subsection Choosing Variables
4918 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4921 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4922 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4923 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4924 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4925 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4926 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4928 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4929 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4930 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4931 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4933 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4934 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4935 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4936 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4937 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4938 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4939 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4940 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4941 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4942 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4943 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4944 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4945 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4946 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4951 @node Paging the Article
4952 @section Scrolling the Article
4953 @cindex article scrolling
4958 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4960 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4961 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4962 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4965 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4967 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4970 @kindex RET (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4972 Scroll the current article one line forward
4973 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4976 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4978 Scroll the current article one line backward
4979 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4983 @kindex A g (Summary)
4985 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4986 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4987 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4988 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4989 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4990 the way it came from the server.
4992 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4993 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4994 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4997 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5002 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5007 @kindex A < (Summary)
5008 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5009 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5015 @kindex A > (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5017 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5021 @kindex A s (Summary)
5023 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5024 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5025 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5029 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5030 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5035 @node Reply Followup and Post
5036 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5039 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5040 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5041 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5042 * Canceling and Superseding::
5046 @node Summary Mail Commands
5047 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5049 @cindex composing mail
5051 Commands for composing a mail message:
5057 @kindex S r (Summary)
5059 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5060 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5061 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5062 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5068 @kindex S R (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5070 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5071 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5072 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5073 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5076 @kindex S w (Summary)
5077 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5078 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5079 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5080 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5081 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5084 @kindex S W (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5086 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5087 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5088 the process/prefix convention.
5091 @kindex S v (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5093 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5094 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5095 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5096 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5097 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5100 @kindex S V (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5102 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5103 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5104 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5107 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5109 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5110 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5113 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5114 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5115 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5116 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5117 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5121 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5122 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5124 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5125 Forward the current article to some other person
5126 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5127 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5128 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5129 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5130 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5131 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5132 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5133 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5134 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5140 @kindex S m (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5142 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5143 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5144 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5145 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5150 @kindex S i (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5152 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5153 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5154 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5156 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5157 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5158 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5159 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5160 for this to work though.
5163 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5165 @cindex bouncing mail
5166 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5167 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5168 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5169 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5170 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5171 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5172 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5173 very well fail, though.
5176 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5178 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5179 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5180 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5181 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5182 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5183 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5184 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5185 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5187 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5188 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5189 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5190 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5191 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5193 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5194 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5197 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5199 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5200 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5201 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5204 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5206 @cindex crossposting
5207 @cindex excessive crossposting
5208 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5209 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5211 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5212 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5213 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5214 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5215 command understands the process/prefix convention
5216 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5220 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5221 Manual}, for more information.
5224 @node Summary Post Commands
5225 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5227 @cindex composing news
5229 Commands for posting a news article:
5235 @kindex S p (Summary)
5236 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5237 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5238 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5239 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5240 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5245 @kindex S f (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5247 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5248 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5252 @kindex S F (Summary)
5254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5255 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5256 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5257 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5258 process/prefix convention.
5261 @kindex S n (Summary)
5262 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5263 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5264 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5267 @kindex S N (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5269 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5270 message through mail and include the original message
5271 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5272 the process/prefix convention.
5275 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5277 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5279 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5280 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5281 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5282 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5283 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5284 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5285 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5286 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5287 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5290 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5293 @cindex making digests
5294 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5295 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5296 process/prefix convention.
5299 @kindex S u (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5301 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5302 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5303 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5306 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5307 Manual}, for more information.
5310 @node Summary Message Commands
5311 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5315 @kindex S y (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5317 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5318 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5319 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5320 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5325 @node Canceling and Superseding
5326 @subsection Canceling Articles
5327 @cindex canceling articles
5328 @cindex superseding articles
5330 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5331 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5333 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5335 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5338 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5339 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5340 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5341 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5342 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5344 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5345 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5348 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5349 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5350 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5352 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5353 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5354 your original article.
5356 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5358 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5360 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5363 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5364 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5365 have posted almost the same article twice.
5367 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5368 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5369 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5370 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5371 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5372 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5373 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5374 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5375 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5376 canceled/superseded.
5378 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5380 @node Delayed Articles
5381 @section Delayed Articles
5382 @cindex delayed sending
5383 @cindex send delayed
5385 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5386 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5387 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5388 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5391 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5394 @findex gnus-delay-article
5395 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5396 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5397 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5398 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5402 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5403 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5404 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5405 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5408 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5409 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5410 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5413 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5414 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5415 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5416 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5417 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5418 that means a time tomorrow.
5421 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5422 couple of variables:
5425 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5426 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5427 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5428 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5432 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5433 formats described above.
5435 @item gnus-delay-group
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5437 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5438 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5439 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5441 @item gnus-delay-header
5442 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5443 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5444 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5445 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5448 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5449 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5450 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5451 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5452 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5454 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5455 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5456 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5457 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5458 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5459 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5462 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5463 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5464 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5465 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5466 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5467 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5468 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5469 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5471 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5472 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5473 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5474 forget to set that up :-)
5478 @node Marking Articles
5479 @section Marking Articles
5480 @cindex article marking
5481 @cindex article ticking
5484 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5486 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5487 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5488 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5490 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5493 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5494 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5495 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5499 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5503 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5504 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5505 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5509 @node Unread Articles
5510 @subsection Unread Articles
5512 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5517 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5518 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5520 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5521 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5522 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5523 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5524 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5525 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5526 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5529 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5530 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5532 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5533 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5534 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5535 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5539 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5540 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5542 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5547 @subsection Read Articles
5548 @cindex expirable mark
5550 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5555 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5556 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5557 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5560 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5561 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5564 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5565 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5566 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5569 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5570 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5573 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5574 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5577 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5578 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5581 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5582 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5585 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5586 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5589 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5590 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5593 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5594 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5598 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5599 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5600 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5604 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5605 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5607 One more special mark, though:
5611 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5612 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5614 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5615 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5616 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5617 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5623 @subsection Other Marks
5624 @cindex process mark
5627 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5633 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5634 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5635 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5636 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5637 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5640 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5641 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5642 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5643 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5646 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5647 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5648 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5651 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5652 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5653 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5656 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5657 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5658 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5659 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5662 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5663 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5664 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5665 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5666 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5667 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5670 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5671 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5672 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5673 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5676 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5677 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5678 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5679 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5680 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5683 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5684 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5685 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5686 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5687 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5688 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5692 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5693 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5694 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5696 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5697 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5698 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5702 @subsection Setting Marks
5703 @cindex setting marks
5705 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5710 @kindex M c (Summary)
5711 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5712 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5713 @cindex mark as unread
5714 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5715 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5721 @kindex M t (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5723 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5724 @xref{Article Caching}.
5729 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5731 Mark the current article as dormant
5732 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5736 @kindex M d (Summary)
5738 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5739 Mark the current article as read
5740 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5744 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5745 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5746 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5751 @kindex M k (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5753 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5754 and then select the next unread article
5755 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5759 @kindex M K (Summary)
5760 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5761 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5762 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5763 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5766 @kindex M C (Summary)
5767 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5768 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5769 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5772 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5773 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5774 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5775 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5778 @kindex M H (Summary)
5779 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5780 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5781 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5784 @kindex M h (Summary)
5785 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5786 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5787 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5790 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5791 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5792 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5793 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5796 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5797 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5798 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5799 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5803 @kindex M e (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5806 Mark the current article as expirable
5807 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5810 @kindex M b (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5812 Set a bookmark in the current article
5813 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5816 @kindex M B (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5818 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5819 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5822 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5824 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5825 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5828 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5830 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5831 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5834 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5836 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5837 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5841 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5842 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5843 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5844 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5845 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5846 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5847 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5848 The default is @code{t}.
5851 @node Generic Marking Commands
5852 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5854 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5855 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5856 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5857 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5858 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5861 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5862 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5865 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5866 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5867 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5868 to list in this manual.
5870 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5871 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5872 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5873 article, you could say something like:
5876 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5877 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5878 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5884 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5885 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5889 @node Setting Process Marks
5890 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5891 @cindex setting process marks
5898 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5899 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5900 Mark the current article with the process mark
5901 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5902 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5906 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5907 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5908 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5909 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5912 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5914 Remove the process mark from all articles
5915 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5918 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5920 Invert the list of process marked articles
5921 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5924 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5926 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5927 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5930 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5932 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5933 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5936 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5938 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5942 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5943 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5946 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5948 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5949 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5952 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5954 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5955 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5958 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5959 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5960 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5961 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5964 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5966 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5969 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5970 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5971 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5972 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5975 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5976 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5977 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5980 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5982 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5983 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5986 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5988 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5989 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5992 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5993 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5994 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5995 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5998 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6000 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6001 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6005 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6006 set process marks based on article body contents.
6013 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6014 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6015 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6018 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6019 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6020 additional articles.
6026 @kindex / / (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6028 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6033 @kindex / a (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6035 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6036 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6040 @kindex / x (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6042 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6043 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6044 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6049 @kindex / u (Summary)
6051 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6052 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6053 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6054 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6055 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6058 @kindex / m (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6060 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6061 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6064 @kindex / t (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6066 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6068 articles younger than that number of days.
6071 @kindex / n (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6073 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6075 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6078 @kindex / w (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6080 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6085 @kindex / . (Summary)
6086 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6087 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6088 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6091 @kindex / v (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6093 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6094 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6097 @kindex / p (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6099 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6100 group parameter predicate
6101 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6102 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6106 @kindex M S (Summary)
6107 @kindex / E (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6109 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6110 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6113 @kindex / D (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6115 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6116 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6119 @kindex / * (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6121 Include all cached articles in the limit
6122 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6125 @kindex / d (Summary)
6126 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6127 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6128 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6131 @kindex / M (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6133 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6136 @kindex / T (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6138 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6141 @kindex / c (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6143 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6144 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6147 @kindex / C (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6149 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6151 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6154 @kindex / N (Summary)
6155 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6156 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6157 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6160 @kindex / o (Summary)
6161 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6162 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6163 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6171 @cindex article threading
6173 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6174 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6175 hierarchical fashion.
6177 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6178 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6179 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6180 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6181 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6182 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6183 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6185 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6189 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6192 A tree-like article structure.
6195 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6198 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6199 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6200 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6201 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6202 called loose threads.
6204 @item thread gathering
6205 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6207 @item sparse threads
6208 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6209 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6215 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6216 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6220 @node Customizing Threading
6221 @subsection Customizing Threading
6222 @cindex customizing threading
6225 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6226 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6227 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6228 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6233 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6236 @cindex loose threads
6239 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6240 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6241 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6242 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6243 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6244 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6246 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6247 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6248 There are four possible values:
6252 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6253 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6254 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6255 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6256 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6261 @cindex adopting articles
6266 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6267 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6268 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6269 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6272 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6273 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6274 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6275 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6276 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6277 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6278 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6281 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6282 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6283 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6287 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6288 display them after one another.
6291 Don't gather loose threads.
6294 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6295 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6296 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6297 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6298 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6299 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6300 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6301 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6302 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6303 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6304 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6306 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6307 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6308 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6311 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6312 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6313 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6314 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6315 simplification is used.
6317 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6318 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6319 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6320 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6322 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6324 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6330 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6331 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6332 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6333 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6338 (mapconcat 'identity
6339 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6341 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6344 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6347 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6348 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6349 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6350 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6351 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6352 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6354 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6357 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6358 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6359 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6361 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6362 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6365 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6366 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6367 Remove excessive whitespace.
6369 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6370 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6371 Remove all whitespace.
6374 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6377 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6378 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6379 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6380 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6381 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6382 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6383 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6384 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6386 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6387 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6388 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6389 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6390 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6391 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6392 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6393 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6394 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6398 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6399 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6400 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6401 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6403 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6404 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6405 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6408 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6412 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6413 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6419 @node Filling In Threads
6420 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6423 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6424 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6425 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6426 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6427 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6428 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6429 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6430 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6431 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6432 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6433 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6434 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6437 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6438 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6439 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6441 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6442 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6443 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6444 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6445 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6446 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6447 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6448 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6449 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6450 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6451 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6452 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6453 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6454 @code{nil} by default.
6456 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6457 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6458 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6459 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6460 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6461 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6462 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6464 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6465 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6466 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6471 @node More Threading
6472 @subsubsection More Threading
6475 @item gnus-show-threads
6476 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6477 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6478 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6479 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6480 slower and more awkward.
6482 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6483 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6484 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6487 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6488 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6489 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6494 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6495 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6496 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6499 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6500 unread, but you get my drift.)
6503 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6504 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6505 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6506 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6507 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6508 threads are expunged.
6510 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6511 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6512 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6515 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6516 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6517 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6518 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6519 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6520 result in a new thread.
6522 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6523 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6524 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6527 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6528 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6529 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6530 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6531 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6532 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6533 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6534 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6535 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6536 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6537 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6542 @node Low-Level Threading
6543 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6547 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6548 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6549 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6551 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6552 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6553 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6554 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6555 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6556 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6557 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6558 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6559 meaningful. Here's one example:
6562 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6564 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6565 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6567 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6569 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6576 @node Thread Commands
6577 @subsection Thread Commands
6578 @cindex thread commands
6584 @kindex T k (Summary)
6585 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6586 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6587 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6588 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6589 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6594 @kindex T l (Summary)
6595 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6597 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6598 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6601 @kindex T i (Summary)
6602 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6603 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6604 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6607 @kindex T # (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6609 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6610 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6613 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6615 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6616 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6619 @kindex T T (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6621 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6624 @kindex T s (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6626 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6627 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6630 @kindex T h (Summary)
6631 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6632 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6635 @kindex T S (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6637 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6640 @kindex T H (Summary)
6641 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6642 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6645 @kindex T t (Summary)
6646 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6647 Re-thread the current article's thread
6648 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6649 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6652 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6654 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6655 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6659 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6660 understand the numeric prefix.
6665 @kindex T n (Summary)
6667 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6669 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6670 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6671 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6674 @kindex T p (Summary)
6676 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6678 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6680 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6683 @kindex T d (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6685 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6688 @kindex T u (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6690 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6693 @kindex T o (Summary)
6694 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6695 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6698 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6699 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6700 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6701 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6702 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6703 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6704 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6705 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6706 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6707 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6708 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6709 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6713 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6714 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6716 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6717 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6718 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6719 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6720 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6721 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6722 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6723 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6724 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6725 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6726 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6727 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6728 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6730 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6731 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6732 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6733 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6734 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6735 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6736 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6737 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6739 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6740 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6741 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6743 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6744 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6745 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6746 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6747 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6748 ascending article order.
6750 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6751 by number, you could do something like:
6754 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6755 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6756 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6757 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6760 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6761 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6762 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6763 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6764 which the articles arrived.
6766 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6770 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6772 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6773 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6776 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6777 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6778 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6779 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6782 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6783 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6784 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6785 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6786 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6787 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6788 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6789 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6790 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6791 variable. It is very similar to the
6792 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6793 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6794 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6795 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6796 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6797 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6798 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6800 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6804 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6805 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6806 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6811 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6812 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6813 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6814 @cindex article pre-fetch
6817 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6818 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6819 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6820 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6821 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6823 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6824 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6826 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6827 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6828 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6829 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6830 connection is blocked.
6832 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6833 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6834 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6835 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6837 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6838 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6839 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6840 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6843 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6846 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6847 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6848 happen automatically.
6850 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6851 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6852 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6853 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6854 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6855 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6856 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6858 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6859 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6860 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6861 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6862 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6863 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6864 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6865 data structure as the only parameter.
6867 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6870 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6871 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6872 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6873 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6876 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6879 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6880 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6881 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6883 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6884 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6885 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6886 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6890 Remove articles when they are read.
6893 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6896 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6898 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6899 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6900 @c from the next group.
6903 @node Article Caching
6904 @section Article Caching
6905 @cindex article caching
6908 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6909 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6910 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6911 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6912 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6914 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6916 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6917 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6918 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6919 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6920 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6921 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6922 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6923 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6925 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6926 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6927 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6928 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6929 as dormant, and don't worry.
6931 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6933 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6934 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6935 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6936 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6937 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6938 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6939 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6940 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6941 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6942 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6944 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6945 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6946 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6947 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6948 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6949 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6950 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6951 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6952 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6953 not then be downloaded by this command.
6955 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6956 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6957 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6958 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6959 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6960 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6962 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6963 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6964 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6965 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6966 variables, the group is not cached.
6968 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6969 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6970 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6971 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6972 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6973 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6974 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6975 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6976 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6979 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6980 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6981 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6982 where, isn't that cool?
6984 @node Persistent Articles
6985 @section Persistent Articles
6986 @cindex persistent articles
6988 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6989 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6990 useful in my opinion.
6992 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6993 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6994 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6995 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6996 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6997 the expiry going on at the news server.
6999 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7000 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7001 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7007 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7008 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7011 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7012 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7013 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7014 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7018 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7020 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7021 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7022 interested in persistent articles:
7025 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7029 @node Article Backlog
7030 @section Article Backlog
7032 @cindex article backlog
7034 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7035 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7036 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7037 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7038 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7039 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7040 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7041 increase memory usage some.
7043 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7044 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7045 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7046 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7047 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7048 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7049 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7051 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7054 @node Saving Articles
7055 @section Saving Articles
7056 @cindex saving articles
7058 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7059 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7060 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7061 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7062 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7064 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7065 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7066 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7068 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7069 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7070 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7072 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7073 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7074 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7075 deleted before saving.
7081 @kindex O o (Summary)
7083 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7084 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7085 Save the current article using the default article saver
7086 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7089 @kindex O m (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7091 Save the current article in mail format
7092 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7095 @kindex O r (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7097 Save the current article in rmail format
7098 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7101 @kindex O f (Summary)
7102 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7103 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7104 Save the current article in plain file format
7105 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7108 @kindex O F (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7110 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7111 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7114 @kindex O b (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7116 Save the current article body in plain file format
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7120 @kindex O h (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7122 Save the current article in mh folder format
7123 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7126 @kindex O v (Summary)
7127 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7128 Save the current article in a VM folder
7129 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7133 @kindex O p (Summary)
7135 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7136 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7137 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7140 @kindex O P (Summary)
7141 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7142 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7143 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7144 external program Muttprint (see
7145 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7146 options to use is controlled by the variable
7147 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7151 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7152 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7153 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7154 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7155 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7156 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7157 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7158 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7159 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7160 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7161 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7162 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7166 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7167 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7168 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7169 functions below, or you can create your own.
7173 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7174 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7175 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7176 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7177 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7178 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7179 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7181 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7182 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7183 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7184 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7185 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7186 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7188 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7189 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7190 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7191 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7192 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7193 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7194 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7196 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7197 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7198 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7199 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7200 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7201 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7203 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7204 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7205 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7206 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7207 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7209 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7210 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7211 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7212 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7213 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7216 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7217 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7218 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7219 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7220 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7222 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7223 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7224 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7225 reader to use this setting.
7228 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7229 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7230 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7231 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7234 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7235 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7236 available functions that generate names:
7240 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7241 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7242 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7244 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7245 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7246 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7248 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7249 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7250 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7252 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7253 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7254 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7256 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7257 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7258 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7261 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7262 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7263 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7264 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7265 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7269 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7270 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7271 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7272 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7275 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7276 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7277 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7278 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7279 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7280 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7281 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7282 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7283 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7285 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7286 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7287 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7288 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7290 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7291 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7292 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7295 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7296 lots of mail groups called things like
7297 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7298 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7299 following will do just that:
7302 (defun my-save-name (group)
7303 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7304 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7306 (setq gnus-split-methods
7307 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7312 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7313 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7314 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7315 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7316 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7317 all the files in the top level directory
7318 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7319 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7320 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7321 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7323 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7324 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7325 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7326 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7327 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7330 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7334 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7335 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7336 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7339 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7340 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7341 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7342 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7345 @node Decoding Articles
7346 @section Decoding Articles
7347 @cindex decoding articles
7349 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7350 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7353 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7354 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7355 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7356 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7357 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7358 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7362 @cindex article series
7363 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7364 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7365 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7366 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7367 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7369 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7370 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7371 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7373 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7374 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7375 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7377 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7378 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7379 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7382 @node Uuencoded Articles
7383 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7385 @cindex uuencoded articles
7390 @kindex X u (Summary)
7391 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7392 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7393 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7396 @kindex X U (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7398 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7399 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7402 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7403 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7404 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7407 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7408 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7409 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7410 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7414 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7415 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7416 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7417 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7418 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7420 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7421 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7422 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7423 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7426 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7427 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7428 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7429 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7430 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7431 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7435 @node Shell Archives
7436 @subsection Shell Archives
7438 @cindex shell archives
7439 @cindex shared articles
7441 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7442 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7443 some commands to deal with these:
7448 @kindex X s (Summary)
7449 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7450 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7453 @kindex X S (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7455 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7458 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7460 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7463 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7464 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7465 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7466 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7470 @node PostScript Files
7471 @subsection PostScript Files
7477 @kindex X p (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7479 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7482 @kindex X P (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7484 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7485 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7488 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7489 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7490 View the current PostScript series
7491 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7494 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7495 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7496 View and save the current PostScript series
7497 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7502 @subsection Other Files
7506 @kindex X o (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7508 Save the current series
7509 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7512 @kindex X b (Summary)
7513 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7514 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7515 doesn't really work yet.
7519 @node Decoding Variables
7520 @subsection Decoding Variables
7522 Adjective, not verb.
7525 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7526 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7527 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7531 @node Rule Variables
7532 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7533 @cindex rule variables
7535 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7536 variables are of the form
7539 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7546 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7547 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7549 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7550 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7553 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7554 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7557 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7558 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7559 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7560 user and default view rules.
7562 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7563 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7564 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7569 @node Other Decode Variables
7570 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7573 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7575 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7576 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7577 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7578 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7579 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7583 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7584 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7587 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7588 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7589 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7592 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7593 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7594 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7595 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7596 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7599 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7600 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7601 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7603 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7604 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7605 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7606 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7607 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7610 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7611 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7612 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7614 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7615 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7616 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7617 looking for files to display.
7619 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7620 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7621 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7624 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7625 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7626 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7629 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7630 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7631 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7634 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7635 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7636 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7639 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7640 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7641 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7642 decoded articles as unread.
7644 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7645 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7646 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7647 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7649 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7650 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7651 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7653 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7654 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7656 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7657 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7658 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7659 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7661 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7662 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7663 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7664 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7665 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7666 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7667 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7668 simply dropped them.
7673 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7674 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7678 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7679 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7680 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7681 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7682 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7683 for you when you post the article.
7685 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7686 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7687 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7688 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7690 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7691 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7692 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7693 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7694 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7695 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7696 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7698 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7699 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7700 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7701 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7702 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7703 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7704 Default is @code{t}.
7710 @subsection Viewing Files
7711 @cindex viewing files
7712 @cindex pseudo-articles
7714 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7715 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7716 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7717 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7718 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7719 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7720 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7722 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7723 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7724 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7725 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7727 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7728 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7729 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7731 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7732 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7733 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7734 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7735 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7737 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7738 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7739 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7740 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7741 a list of parameters to that command.
7743 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7744 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7745 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7747 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7748 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7749 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7752 @node Article Treatment
7753 @section Article Treatment
7755 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7756 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7757 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7758 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7759 these articles easier.
7762 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7763 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7764 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7765 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7766 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7767 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7768 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7769 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7770 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7771 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7775 @node Article Highlighting
7776 @subsection Article Highlighting
7777 @cindex highlighting
7779 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7780 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7785 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7786 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7787 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7788 Do much highlighting of the current article
7789 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7790 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7793 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7794 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7795 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7796 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7797 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7798 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7799 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7800 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7801 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7802 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7803 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7804 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7807 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7808 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7809 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7811 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7814 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7816 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7817 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7818 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7820 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7821 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7822 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7824 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7825 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7826 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7827 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7828 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7829 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7831 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7832 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7833 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7835 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7836 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7837 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7839 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7840 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7841 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7842 that it's a citation.
7844 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7845 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7846 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7848 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7849 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7850 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7852 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7853 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7854 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7855 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7861 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7862 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7863 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7864 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7865 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7866 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7867 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7868 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7873 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7876 @node Article Fontisizing
7877 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7879 @cindex article emphasis
7881 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7882 @kindex W e (Summary)
7883 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7884 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7885 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7886 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7888 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7889 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7890 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7891 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7892 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7893 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7894 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7895 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7899 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7900 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7901 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7910 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7911 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7912 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7913 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7914 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7915 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7916 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7917 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7918 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7919 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7920 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7921 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7922 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7924 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7925 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7926 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7930 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7933 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7935 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7936 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7937 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7938 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7940 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7943 @node Article Hiding
7944 @subsection Article Hiding
7945 @cindex article hiding
7947 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7948 too much cruft in most articles.
7953 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7954 @findex gnus-article-hide
7955 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7956 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7957 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7960 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7961 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7962 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7966 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7967 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7968 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7969 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7972 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7973 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7974 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7978 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7979 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7980 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7981 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7982 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7983 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7984 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7985 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7989 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7990 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7991 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7992 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7997 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7999 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8000 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8001 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8002 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8003 articles that have signatures in them do:
8005 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8007 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8009 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8010 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8012 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8015 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8020 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8021 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8022 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8023 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8026 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8027 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8028 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8029 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8032 @cindex stripping advertisements
8033 @cindex advertisements
8034 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8035 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8036 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8037 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8038 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8039 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8040 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8041 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8042 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8043 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8046 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8047 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8048 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8052 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8053 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8054 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8055 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8056 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8057 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8058 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8059 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8060 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8061 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8062 following element to remove them:
8065 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8071 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8072 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8073 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8074 customizing the hiding:
8078 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8079 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8080 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8081 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8082 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8083 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8084 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8089 Starting point of the hidden text.
8091 Ending point of the hidden text.
8093 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8095 Number of lines of hidden text.
8098 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8099 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8100 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8101 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8102 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8107 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8108 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8110 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8111 following two variables:
8114 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8115 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8116 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8117 50), hide the cited text.
8119 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8120 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8121 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8126 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8127 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8128 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8129 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8130 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8131 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8135 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8136 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8137 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8139 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8140 citation customization.
8142 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8146 @node Article Washing
8147 @subsection Article Washing
8149 @cindex article washing
8151 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8152 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8154 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8155 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8158 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8159 articles by default.
8164 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8165 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8169 @kindex W l (Summary)
8170 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8171 Remove page breaks from the current article
8172 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8176 @kindex W r (Summary)
8177 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8178 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8179 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8180 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8181 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8182 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8184 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8185 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8186 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8187 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8191 @kindex W t (Summary)
8193 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8194 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8195 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8198 @kindex W v (Summary)
8199 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8200 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8201 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8204 @kindex W o (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8206 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8209 @kindex W d (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8211 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8213 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8215 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8216 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8217 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8218 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8221 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8222 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8223 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8224 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8227 @kindex W k (Summary)
8228 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8229 @cindex Outlook Express
8230 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8231 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8234 @kindex W w (Summary)
8235 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8236 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8238 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8242 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8243 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8244 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8247 @kindex W C (Summary)
8248 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8249 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8250 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8253 @kindex W c (Summary)
8254 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8255 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8256 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8257 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8258 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8261 @kindex W q (Summary)
8262 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8263 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8264 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8265 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8266 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8267 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8268 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8269 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8270 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8273 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8275 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8276 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8277 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8278 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8279 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8281 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8284 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8285 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8286 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8287 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8288 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8291 @kindex W u (Summary)
8292 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8293 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8294 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8295 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8296 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8299 @kindex W h (Summary)
8300 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8301 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8302 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8303 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8305 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8307 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8308 The default is to use the function specified by
8309 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8310 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8311 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8319 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8323 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8326 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8329 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8334 @kindex W b (Summary)
8335 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8336 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8337 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8340 @kindex W B (Summary)
8341 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8342 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8343 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8346 @kindex W p (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8348 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8349 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8350 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8351 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8352 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8353 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8356 @kindex W s (Summary)
8357 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8358 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8359 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8362 @kindex W a (Summary)
8363 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8364 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8365 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8368 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8370 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8371 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8374 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8376 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8377 lines with a single empty line.
8378 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8381 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8382 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8383 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8384 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8387 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8389 Do all the three commands above
8390 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8393 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8395 Remove all blank lines
8396 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8399 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8400 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8401 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8402 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8405 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8406 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8407 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8408 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8412 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8415 @node Article Header
8416 @subsection Article Header
8418 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8423 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8425 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8428 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8429 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8430 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8431 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8434 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8435 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8436 Fold all the message headers
8437 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8441 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8442 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8443 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8448 @node Article Buttons
8449 @subsection Article Buttons
8452 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8453 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8454 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8455 button on these references.
8457 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8458 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8459 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8460 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8461 one that handles article heads:
8465 @item gnus-button-alist
8466 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8467 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8470 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8476 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8477 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8478 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8479 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8482 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8483 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8484 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8487 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8488 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8489 avoid false matches.
8492 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8495 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8496 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8500 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8503 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8506 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8507 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8508 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8509 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8510 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8513 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8516 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8518 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8519 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8520 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8521 default values of the variables above.
8523 @item gnus-article-button-face
8524 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8525 Face used on buttons.
8527 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8528 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8529 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8533 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8537 @subsection Article Date
8539 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8540 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8541 when the article was sent.
8546 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8548 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8549 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8552 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8553 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8555 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8556 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8559 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8560 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8561 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8564 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8566 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8567 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8570 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8571 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8572 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8573 @findex format-time-string
8574 Display the date using a user-defined format
8575 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8576 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8577 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8578 for a list of possible format specs.
8581 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8582 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8583 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8584 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8585 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8586 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8589 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8592 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8593 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8596 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8597 into wonderful absurdities.
8599 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8602 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8605 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8606 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8610 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8611 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8612 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8613 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8614 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8615 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8616 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8620 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8621 preferred format automatically.
8624 @node Article Display
8625 @subsection Article Display
8630 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8631 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8633 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8634 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8636 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8637 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8639 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8640 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8642 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8647 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8648 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8649 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8650 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8653 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8654 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8655 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8658 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8659 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8660 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8663 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8664 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8665 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8666 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8669 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8670 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8671 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8672 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8675 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8676 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8677 Remove all images from the article buffer
8678 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8684 @node Article Signature
8685 @subsection Article Signature
8687 @cindex article signature
8689 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8690 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8691 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8692 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8693 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8694 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8695 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8696 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8697 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8700 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8701 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8702 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8703 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8704 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8705 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8706 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8707 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8710 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8713 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8714 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8715 signature when displaying articles.
8719 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8722 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8725 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8726 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8728 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8729 in question is not a signature.
8732 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8733 listed above. Here's an example:
8736 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8737 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8740 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8741 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8742 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8743 signature after all.
8746 @node Article Miscellania
8747 @subsection Article Miscellania
8751 @kindex A t (Summary)
8752 @findex gnus-article-babel
8753 Translate the article from one language to another
8754 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8760 @section MIME Commands
8761 @cindex MIME decoding
8763 @cindex viewing attachments
8765 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8766 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8772 @kindex K v (Summary)
8773 View the @sc{mime} part.
8776 @kindex K o (Summary)
8777 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8780 @kindex K c (Summary)
8781 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8784 @kindex K e (Summary)
8785 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8788 @kindex K i (Summary)
8789 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8792 @kindex K | (Summary)
8793 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8796 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8801 @kindex K b (Summary)
8802 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8803 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8807 @kindex K m (Summary)
8808 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8809 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8810 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8811 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8812 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8815 @kindex X m (Summary)
8816 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8817 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8818 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8819 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8822 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8823 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8824 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8825 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8828 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8829 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8830 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8831 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8834 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8835 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8836 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8837 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8839 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8840 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8841 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8842 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8843 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8844 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8847 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8849 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8850 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8857 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8858 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8859 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8860 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8863 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8866 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8870 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8871 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8872 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8873 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8874 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8875 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8878 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8879 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8880 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8881 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8882 displayed. This variable overrides
8883 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8885 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8886 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8887 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8889 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8890 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8891 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8892 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8893 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8894 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8895 save all jpegs into some directory).
8897 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8900 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8901 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8903 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8904 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8905 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8906 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8907 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8910 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8911 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8912 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8914 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8915 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8916 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8917 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8919 Ready-made functions include@*
8920 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8921 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8922 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8923 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8924 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8925 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8926 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8927 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8928 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8929 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8930 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8931 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8933 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8934 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8936 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8937 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8938 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8941 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8942 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8943 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8944 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8948 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8957 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8958 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8959 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8960 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8961 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8962 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8963 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8965 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8966 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8967 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8968 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8970 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8971 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8972 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8973 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8974 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8975 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8976 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8977 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8979 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8980 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8981 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8982 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8983 quoted-printable header encoding.
8985 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8986 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8987 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8991 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8994 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8995 means encode all charsets),
8997 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8998 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8999 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9006 @cindex coding system aliases
9007 @cindex preferred charset
9009 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9011 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9012 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9015 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9016 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9019 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9020 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9022 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9025 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9028 This will almost do the right thing.
9030 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9034 (codepage-setup 1251)
9035 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9039 @node Article Commands
9040 @section Article Commands
9047 @kindex A P (Summary)
9048 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9049 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9050 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9051 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9052 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9053 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9058 @node Summary Sorting
9059 @section Summary Sorting
9060 @cindex summary sorting
9062 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9063 can't really see why you'd want that.
9068 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9069 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9070 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9073 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9074 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9075 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9078 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9079 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9080 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9083 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9084 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9085 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9088 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9090 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9093 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9094 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9095 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9098 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9099 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9100 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9103 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9104 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9105 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9108 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9109 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9110 Sort using the default sorting method
9111 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9114 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9115 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9116 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9117 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9118 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9122 @node Finding the Parent
9123 @section Finding the Parent
9124 @cindex parent articles
9125 @cindex referring articles
9130 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9131 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9132 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9133 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9134 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9135 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9136 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9137 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9138 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9140 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9141 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9142 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9143 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9144 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9148 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9149 @kindex A R (Summary)
9150 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9151 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9154 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9155 @kindex A T (Summary)
9156 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9157 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9158 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9159 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9160 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9161 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9162 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9164 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9165 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9166 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9167 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9168 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9169 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9172 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9173 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9175 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9176 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9177 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9178 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9179 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9180 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9181 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9184 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9185 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9186 by giving this command a prefix.
9188 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9189 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9190 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9191 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9192 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9193 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9196 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9197 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9198 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9201 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9202 then ask Google if that fails:
9205 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9207 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9210 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9211 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9212 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9213 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9214 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9215 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9216 support this at all.
9219 @node Alternative Approaches
9220 @section Alternative Approaches
9222 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9223 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9226 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9227 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9232 @subsection Pick and Read
9233 @cindex pick and read
9235 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9236 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9237 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9238 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9240 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9241 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9242 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9243 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9244 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9245 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9247 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9252 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9253 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9254 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9255 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9256 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9257 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9258 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9259 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9262 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9263 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9264 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9265 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9269 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9270 Unpick the thread or article
9271 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9272 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9273 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9274 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9275 the thread or article at that line.
9279 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9280 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9281 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9282 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9283 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9284 will still be visible when you are reading.
9288 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9289 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9290 which is mapped to the same function
9291 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9293 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9296 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9299 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9300 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9302 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9303 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9304 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9306 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9307 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9308 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9309 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9310 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9311 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9312 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9316 @subsection Binary Groups
9317 @cindex binary groups
9319 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9320 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9321 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9322 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9323 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9324 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9325 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9328 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9329 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9330 command, when you have turned on this mode
9331 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9333 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9334 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9338 @section Tree Display
9341 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9342 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9343 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9344 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9347 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9350 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9351 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9352 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9354 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9355 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9356 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9357 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9358 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9360 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9361 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9362 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9363 default is @code{modeline}.
9365 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9366 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9367 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9368 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9369 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9370 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9371 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9377 The name of the poster.
9379 The @code{From} header.
9381 The number of the article.
9383 The opening bracket.
9385 The closing bracket.
9390 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9392 Variables related to the display are:
9395 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9396 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9397 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9398 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9399 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9400 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9402 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9403 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9404 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9405 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9409 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9410 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9411 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9412 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9413 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9414 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9415 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9416 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9417 other windows displayed next to it.
9419 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9423 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9424 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9427 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9428 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9429 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9430 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9431 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9432 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9433 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9437 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9440 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9450 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9454 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9455 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9457 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9459 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9464 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9465 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9466 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9469 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9470 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9471 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9472 (gnus-add-configuration
9476 (summary 0.75 point)
9481 @xref{Window Layout}.
9484 @node Mail Group Commands
9485 @section Mail Group Commands
9486 @cindex mail group commands
9488 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9489 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9491 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9492 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9497 @kindex B e (Summary)
9498 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9499 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9500 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9501 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9502 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9505 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9506 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9507 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9508 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9509 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9510 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9513 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9514 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9515 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9516 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9517 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9518 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9521 @kindex B m (Summary)
9523 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9524 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9525 Move the article from one mail group to another
9526 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9527 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9530 @kindex B c (Summary)
9532 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9533 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9534 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9535 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9536 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9539 @kindex B B (Summary)
9540 @cindex crosspost mail
9541 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9542 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9543 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9544 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9545 be properly updated.
9548 @kindex B i (Summary)
9549 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9550 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9551 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9552 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9555 @kindex B I (Summary)
9556 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9557 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9558 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9559 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9562 @kindex B r (Summary)
9563 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9564 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9565 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9566 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9567 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9568 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9569 (which is the default).
9573 @kindex B w (Summary)
9575 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9576 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9577 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9578 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9579 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9580 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9581 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9584 @kindex B q (Summary)
9585 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9586 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9587 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9588 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9591 @kindex B t (Summary)
9592 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9593 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9594 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9597 @kindex B p (Summary)
9598 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9599 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9600 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9601 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9602 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9603 article from your news server (or rather, from
9604 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9605 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9606 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9607 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9608 just not have arrived yet.
9611 @kindex K E (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9613 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9614 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9615 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9616 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9620 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9621 @cindex moving articles
9622 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9623 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9624 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9625 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9626 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9627 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9628 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9631 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9632 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9633 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9634 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9638 @node Various Summary Stuff
9639 @section Various Summary Stuff
9642 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9643 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9644 * Summary Generation Commands::
9645 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9649 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9650 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9651 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9653 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9654 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9655 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9656 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9657 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9658 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9661 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9662 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9663 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9664 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9665 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9667 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9668 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9669 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9672 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9673 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9674 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9675 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9676 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9677 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9678 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9679 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9680 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9681 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9683 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9684 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9685 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9686 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9687 list of articles to be selected.
9689 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9690 the list in one particular group:
9693 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9694 (if (string= group "some.group")
9695 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9699 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9700 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9701 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9702 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9703 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9704 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9705 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9706 buffers. For example:
9709 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9710 '(message-use-followup-to
9711 (gnus-visible-headers .
9712 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9718 @node Summary Group Information
9719 @subsection Summary Group Information
9724 @kindex H f (Summary)
9725 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9726 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9727 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9728 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9729 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9730 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9731 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9732 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9733 be used for fetching the file.
9736 @kindex H d (Summary)
9737 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9738 Give a brief description of the current group
9739 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9740 rereading the description from the server.
9743 @kindex H h (Summary)
9744 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9745 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9746 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9749 @kindex H i (Summary)
9750 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9751 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9755 @node Searching for Articles
9756 @subsection Searching for Articles
9761 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9762 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9763 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9764 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9767 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9768 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9769 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9770 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9774 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9775 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9776 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9777 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9778 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9779 search backward instead.
9781 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9782 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9785 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9786 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9787 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9788 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9791 @node Summary Generation Commands
9792 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9797 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9798 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9799 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9802 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9803 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9804 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9805 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9810 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9811 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9817 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9818 @kindex A D (Summary)
9819 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9820 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9821 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9822 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9823 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9824 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9825 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9826 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9830 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9831 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9832 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9833 several documents into one biiig group
9834 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9835 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9836 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9837 command understands the process/prefix convention
9838 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9841 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9842 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9843 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9844 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9845 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9846 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9850 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9851 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9852 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9855 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9856 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9857 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9858 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9861 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9862 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9863 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9864 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9869 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9870 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9871 @cindex summary exit
9872 @cindex exiting groups
9874 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9875 group and return you to the group buffer.
9881 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9883 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9884 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9885 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9886 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9887 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9888 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9889 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9890 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9891 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9892 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9893 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9897 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9899 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9900 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9901 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9905 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9907 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9908 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9909 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9910 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9913 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9914 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9915 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9916 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9919 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9920 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9921 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9922 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9925 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9926 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9927 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9928 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9929 all articles, both read and unread.
9933 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9934 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9935 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9936 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9937 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9938 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9939 articles, both read and unread.
9942 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9943 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9944 Exit the group and go to the next group
9945 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9948 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9949 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9950 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9951 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9954 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9955 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9956 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9957 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9958 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9959 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9962 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9963 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9964 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9965 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9967 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9968 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9969 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9970 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9971 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9972 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9973 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9974 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9975 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9976 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9977 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9978 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9980 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9982 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9983 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9984 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9985 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9986 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9987 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9988 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9989 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9990 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9993 @node Crosspost Handling
9994 @section Crosspost Handling
9998 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9999 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10000 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10001 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10002 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10003 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10006 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10007 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10008 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10009 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10010 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10012 @cindex cross-posting
10015 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10016 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10017 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10018 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10019 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10020 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10021 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10022 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10023 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10024 the cross reference mechanism.
10026 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10027 @cindex overview.fmt
10028 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10029 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10030 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10031 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10032 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10033 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10036 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10037 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10038 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10043 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10046 @node Duplicate Suppression
10047 @section Duplicate Suppression
10049 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10050 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10051 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10052 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10057 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10058 is evil and not very common.
10061 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10062 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10065 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10066 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10069 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10072 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10073 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10075 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10076 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10077 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10078 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10079 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10080 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10081 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10084 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10085 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10086 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10087 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10088 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10089 saw the article in.
10092 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10093 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10094 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10096 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10097 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10098 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10099 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10100 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10101 session are suppressed.
10103 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10104 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10105 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10106 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10108 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10109 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10110 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10111 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10114 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10115 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10116 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10117 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10118 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10119 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10120 to you to figure out, I think.
10125 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10126 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10127 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10131 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10132 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10135 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10136 or newer is recommended.
10140 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10141 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10144 @item mm-verify-option
10145 @vindex mm-verify-option
10146 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10147 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10148 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10150 @item mm-decrypt-option
10151 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10152 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10153 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10154 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10159 @section Mailing List
10161 @kindex A M (summary)
10162 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10163 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10164 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10165 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10166 summary buffer, or say:
10169 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10172 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10177 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10179 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10182 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10183 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10184 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10187 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10188 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10189 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10193 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10194 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10195 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10198 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10199 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10200 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10203 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10204 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10205 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10209 @node Article Buffer
10210 @chapter Article Buffer
10211 @cindex article buffer
10213 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10214 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10215 tell Gnus otherwise.
10218 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10219 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10220 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10221 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10222 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10226 @node Hiding Headers
10227 @section Hiding Headers
10228 @cindex hiding headers
10229 @cindex deleting headers
10231 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10232 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10234 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10235 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10236 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10237 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10238 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10239 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10240 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10241 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10242 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10244 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10248 @item gnus-visible-headers
10249 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10250 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10251 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10252 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10254 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10255 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10258 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10261 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10264 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10265 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10266 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10267 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10268 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10269 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10271 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10272 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10275 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10278 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10281 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10282 variable will have no effect.
10286 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10287 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10288 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10289 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10290 the headers are to be displayed.
10292 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10293 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10296 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10299 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10300 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10302 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10303 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10304 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10305 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10306 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10307 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10308 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10311 These conditions are:
10314 Remove all empty headers.
10316 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10317 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10319 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10320 @code{From} header.
10322 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10325 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10326 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10328 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10331 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10333 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10336 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10339 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10340 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10343 This is also the default value for this variable.
10347 @section Using MIME
10350 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10351 while people stand around yawning.
10353 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10354 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10356 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10357 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10358 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10360 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10361 @findex gnus-display-mime
10362 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10363 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10364 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10365 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10367 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10371 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10372 @item RET (Article)
10373 @kindex RET (Article)
10374 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10375 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10376 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10377 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10378 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10379 object is displayed inline.
10381 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10382 @item M-RET (Article)
10383 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10385 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10386 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10388 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10390 @kindex t (Article)
10391 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10392 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10394 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10396 @kindex C (Article)
10397 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10398 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10400 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10402 @kindex o (Article)
10403 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10404 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10406 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10407 @item C-o (Article)
10408 @kindex C-o (Article)
10409 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10410 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10411 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10412 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10413 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10414 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10416 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10418 @kindex c (Article)
10419 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10420 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10422 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10424 @kindex p (Article)
10425 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10426 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10427 @file{.mailcap} file.
10429 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10431 @kindex i (Article)
10432 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10433 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10434 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10435 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10436 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10439 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10441 @kindex E (Article)
10442 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10443 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10444 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10446 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10448 @kindex e (Article)
10449 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10450 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10452 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10454 @kindex | (Article)
10455 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10457 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10459 @kindex . (Article)
10460 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10461 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10465 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10466 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10469 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10470 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10471 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10472 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10473 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10474 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10475 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10476 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10477 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10479 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10481 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10484 @node Customizing Articles
10485 @section Customizing Articles
10486 @cindex article customization
10488 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10489 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10490 called automatically when you select the articles.
10492 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10493 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10494 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10495 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10497 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10498 for sensible values.
10502 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10505 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10508 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10511 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10514 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10518 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10519 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10520 regexps in the list.
10523 A list where the first element is not a string:
10525 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10526 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10527 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10531 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10536 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10537 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10538 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10539 considered to contain just a single part.
10541 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10542 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10543 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10544 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10545 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10546 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10547 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10549 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10550 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10551 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10552 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10555 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10556 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10558 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10560 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10561 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10562 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10563 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10564 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10565 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10566 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10567 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10568 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10569 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10571 @xref{Article Washing}.
10573 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10574 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10575 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10576 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10577 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10578 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10579 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10581 @xref{Article Date}.
10583 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10584 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10585 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10589 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10591 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10593 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10594 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10595 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10599 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10603 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10604 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10605 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10606 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10607 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10608 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10609 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10610 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10612 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10614 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10615 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10616 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10618 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10620 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10621 @item gnus-treat-translate
10622 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10624 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10625 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10626 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10627 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10629 @xref{Article Header}.
10634 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10635 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10636 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10637 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10638 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10642 @node Article Keymap
10643 @section Article Keymap
10645 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10646 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10647 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10648 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10651 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10656 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10657 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10658 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10661 @kindex DEL (Article)
10662 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10663 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10666 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10667 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10668 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10669 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10670 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10673 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10674 @findex gnus-article-mail
10675 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10676 given a prefix, include the mail.
10679 @kindex s (Article)
10680 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10681 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10682 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10685 @kindex ? (Article)
10686 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10687 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10688 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10691 @kindex TAB (Article)
10692 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10693 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10694 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10697 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10698 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10699 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10702 @kindex R (Article)
10703 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10704 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10705 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10706 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10710 @kindex F (Article)
10711 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10712 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10713 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10714 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10722 @section Misc Article
10726 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10727 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10728 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10729 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10732 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10733 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10735 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10736 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10738 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10739 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10740 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10741 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10742 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10743 the contents of the article buffer.
10745 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10746 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10747 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10749 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10750 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10751 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10752 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10754 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10755 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10756 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10757 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10758 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10764 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10765 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10766 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10771 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10774 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10777 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10778 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10779 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10782 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10785 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10788 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10793 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10797 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10799 @item gnus-break-pages
10800 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10801 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10802 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10803 paging will not be done.
10805 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10806 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10807 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10812 @node Composing Messages
10813 @chapter Composing Messages
10814 @cindex composing messages
10817 @cindex sending mail
10822 @cindex using s/mime
10823 @cindex using smime
10825 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10826 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10827 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10828 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10829 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10830 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10833 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10834 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10835 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10836 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10837 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10838 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10839 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10840 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10843 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10844 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10850 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10853 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10854 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10855 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10856 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10858 @item gnus-add-to-list
10859 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10860 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10861 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10863 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10864 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10865 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10866 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10867 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10872 @node Posting Server
10873 @section Posting Server
10875 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10876 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10878 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10880 It can be quite complicated.
10882 @vindex gnus-post-method
10883 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10884 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10885 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10886 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10887 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10888 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10889 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10890 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10891 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10894 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10897 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10898 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10899 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10900 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10902 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10903 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10905 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10906 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10909 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10910 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10912 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10913 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10914 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10915 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10916 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10917 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10918 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10919 package correctly. An example:
10922 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10923 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10926 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10927 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10928 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10930 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10931 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10932 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10934 @node Mail and Post
10935 @section Mail and Post
10937 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10941 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10942 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10943 @cindex mailing lists
10945 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10946 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10947 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10948 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10949 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10950 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10951 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10952 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10953 still a pain, though.
10957 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10958 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10959 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10962 @findex ispell-message
10964 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10967 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10968 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10971 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10975 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10976 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10978 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10981 Modify to suit your needs.
10984 @node Archived Messages
10985 @section Archived Messages
10986 @cindex archived messages
10987 @cindex sent messages
10989 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10990 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10991 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10992 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10995 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10996 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10999 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11000 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11001 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11004 (nnfolder "archive"
11005 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11006 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11007 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11008 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11011 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11012 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11013 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11014 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11017 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11018 '(nnfolder "archive"
11019 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11020 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11021 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11024 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11026 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11027 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11028 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11030 This variable can be used to do the following:
11035 Messages will be saved in that group.
11037 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11038 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11039 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11040 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11041 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11042 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11043 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11044 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11048 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11050 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11051 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11054 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11059 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11061 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11064 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11066 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11069 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11071 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11072 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11073 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11074 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11077 More complex stuff:
11079 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11080 '((if (message-news-p)
11085 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11086 messages in one file per month:
11089 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11090 '((if (message-news-p)
11092 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11095 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11096 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11098 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11099 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11100 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11101 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11102 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11103 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11104 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11105 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11106 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11107 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11109 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11110 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11111 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11112 this will disable archiving.
11115 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11116 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11117 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11118 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11119 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11122 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11123 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11124 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11127 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11128 but the latter is the preferred method.
11130 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11131 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11132 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11134 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11135 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11136 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11137 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11138 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11139 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11140 changed in the future.
11145 @node Posting Styles
11146 @section Posting Styles
11147 @cindex posting styles
11150 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11152 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11153 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11154 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11157 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11158 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11159 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11160 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11161 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11166 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11167 (organization "What me?"))
11169 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11170 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11171 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11174 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11175 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11176 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11177 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11178 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11179 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11180 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11181 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11183 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11184 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11185 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11186 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11187 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11188 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11189 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11190 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11191 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11193 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11194 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11195 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11196 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11197 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11198 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11199 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11200 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11201 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11202 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11205 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11206 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11207 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11208 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11209 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11210 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11211 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11212 references chars lines xref extra.
11214 @vindex message-reply-headers
11216 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11217 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11218 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11220 @findex message-mail-p
11221 @findex message-news-p
11223 So here's a new example:
11226 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11228 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11230 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11231 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11233 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11234 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11235 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11236 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11237 (signature my-news-signature))
11238 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11239 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11240 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11241 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11242 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11243 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11244 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11245 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11246 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11247 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11249 (From (save-excursion
11250 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11251 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11253 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11256 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11257 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11258 if you fill many roles.
11265 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11266 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11267 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11268 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11269 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11271 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11272 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11273 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11274 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11275 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11279 @vindex nndraft-directory
11280 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11281 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11282 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11283 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11284 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11285 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11287 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11288 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11291 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11292 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11293 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11294 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11295 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11296 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11297 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11298 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11299 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11300 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11301 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11302 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11303 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11304 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11306 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11307 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11308 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11310 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11311 @kindex D e (Draft)
11312 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11313 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11314 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11316 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11319 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11320 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11321 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11322 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11323 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11324 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11325 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11328 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11329 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11330 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11333 @node Rejected Articles
11334 @section Rejected Articles
11335 @cindex rejected articles
11337 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11338 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11339 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11340 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11342 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11343 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11344 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11345 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11346 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11348 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11349 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11350 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11352 @node Signing and encrypting
11353 @section Signing and encrypting
11355 @cindex using s/mime
11356 @cindex using smime
11358 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11359 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11360 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11361 (@pxref{Security}).
11363 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11364 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11365 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11367 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11368 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11369 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11370 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11371 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11372 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11373 automatically encrypted messages.
11375 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11376 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11377 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11382 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11383 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11385 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11388 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11389 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11391 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11394 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11395 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11397 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11400 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11401 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11403 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11406 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11407 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11409 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11412 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11413 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11415 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11418 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11419 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11420 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11424 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11426 @node Select Methods
11427 @chapter Select Methods
11428 @cindex foreign groups
11429 @cindex select methods
11431 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11432 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11433 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11434 personal mail group.
11436 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11437 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11438 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11439 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11440 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11441 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11443 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11444 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11446 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11449 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11450 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11451 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11452 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11453 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11455 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11458 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11459 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11460 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11461 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11462 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11463 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11464 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11465 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11469 @node Server Buffer
11470 @section Server Buffer
11472 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11473 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11474 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11475 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11476 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11477 back end represents a virtual server.
11479 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11480 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11481 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11482 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11484 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11485 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11486 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11487 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11488 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11489 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11490 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11492 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11493 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11496 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11497 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11498 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11499 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11500 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11501 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11502 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11505 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11506 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11509 @node Server Buffer Format
11510 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11511 @cindex server buffer format
11513 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11514 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11515 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11516 variable, with some simple extensions:
11521 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11524 The name of this server.
11527 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11530 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11533 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11534 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11535 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11536 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11546 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11549 @node Server Commands
11550 @subsection Server Commands
11551 @cindex server commands
11557 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11558 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11562 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11563 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11566 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11567 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11568 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11572 @findex gnus-server-exit
11573 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11577 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11578 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11582 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11583 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11587 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11588 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11592 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11593 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11597 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11598 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11599 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11604 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11605 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11606 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11607 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11612 @node Example Methods
11613 @subsection Example Methods
11615 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11618 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11621 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11627 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11628 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11631 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11632 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11634 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11635 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11639 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11642 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11643 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11645 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11646 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11647 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11651 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11654 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11657 Here's the method for a public spool:
11661 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11662 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11668 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11669 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11670 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11671 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11672 should probably look something like this:
11676 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11677 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11678 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11679 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11682 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11683 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11684 configuration to the example above:
11687 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11690 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11692 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11693 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11694 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11698 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11699 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11700 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11701 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11704 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11705 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11706 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11707 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11710 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11711 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11713 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11714 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11716 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11717 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11718 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11720 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11722 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11723 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11724 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11725 will contain the following:
11735 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11736 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11737 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11740 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11741 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11742 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11745 @node Server Variables
11746 @subsection Server Variables
11748 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11749 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11750 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11751 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11752 won't change the "derived" variables.
11754 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11755 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11756 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11757 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11758 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11759 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11760 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11761 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11762 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11766 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11767 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11768 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11772 @node Servers and Methods
11773 @subsection Servers and Methods
11775 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11776 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11777 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11778 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11782 @node Unavailable Servers
11783 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11785 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11786 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11787 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11788 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11789 actually the case or not.
11791 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11792 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11793 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11794 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11795 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11796 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11797 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11798 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11800 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11801 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11803 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11804 with the following commands:
11810 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11811 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11812 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11816 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11817 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11818 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11822 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11823 Mark the current server as unreachable
11824 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11827 @kindex M-o (Server)
11828 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11829 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11830 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11833 @kindex M-c (Server)
11834 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11835 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11836 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11840 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11841 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11842 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11846 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11847 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11853 @section Getting News
11854 @cindex reading news
11855 @cindex news back ends
11857 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11858 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11859 or it can read from a local spool.
11862 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11863 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11871 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11872 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11873 server as the, uhm, address.
11875 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11876 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11877 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11878 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11880 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11881 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11882 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11884 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11889 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11890 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11891 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11893 @cindex authentification
11894 @cindex nntp authentification
11895 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11896 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11897 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11898 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11899 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11900 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11901 present in this hook.
11903 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11904 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11905 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11906 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11907 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11908 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11909 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11910 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11911 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11912 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11913 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11914 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11918 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11921 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11923 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11924 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11925 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11926 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11927 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11928 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11929 @samp{force} is explained below.
11933 Here's an example file:
11936 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11937 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11940 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11941 have to be first, for instance.
11943 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11944 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11945 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11946 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11947 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11948 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11949 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11951 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11952 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11958 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11959 previously mentioned.
11961 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11963 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11964 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11965 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11966 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11967 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11970 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11971 '(("innd" (ding))))
11974 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11976 The default value is
11979 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11980 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11981 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11984 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11985 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11987 @item nntp-maximum-request
11988 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11989 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11990 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11991 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11992 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11993 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11994 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11996 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11997 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11998 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11999 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12000 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12001 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12002 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12003 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12004 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12005 no timeouts are done.
12007 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12008 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12009 @c @cindex PPP connections
12010 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12011 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12012 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12013 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12014 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12015 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12016 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12017 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12018 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12019 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12021 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12022 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12023 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12024 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12025 @c described above.
12027 @item nntp-server-hook
12028 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12029 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12032 @item nntp-buggy-select
12033 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12034 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12036 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12037 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12038 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12039 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12042 @item nntp-xover-commands
12043 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12046 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12047 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12051 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12052 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12053 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12054 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12055 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12056 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12057 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12058 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12059 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12060 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12061 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12063 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12064 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12065 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12067 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12068 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12069 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12070 server closes connection.
12072 @item nntp-record-commands
12073 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12074 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12075 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12076 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12077 that doesn't seem to work.
12079 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12080 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12081 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12082 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12083 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12084 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12085 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12086 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12088 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12089 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12090 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12091 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12092 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12093 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12094 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12097 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12100 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12101 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12105 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12106 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12107 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12111 @node Direct Functions
12112 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12113 @cindex direct connection functions
12115 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12116 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12117 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12118 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12121 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12122 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12123 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12126 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12127 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12128 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12129 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12130 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12131 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12132 define a server as follows:
12135 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12137 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12138 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12140 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12141 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12142 (nntp-port-number 563)
12143 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12146 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12147 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12148 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12149 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12150 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12151 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12152 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12153 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12157 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12158 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12159 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12162 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12163 session, which is not a good idea.
12167 @node Indirect Functions
12168 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12169 @cindex indirect connection functions
12171 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12172 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12173 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12174 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12175 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12176 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12179 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12180 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12181 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12182 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12183 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12185 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12188 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12189 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12190 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12191 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12193 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12194 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12195 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12196 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12197 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12198 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12199 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12200 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12203 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12204 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12205 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12206 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12208 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12211 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12212 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12213 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12216 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12217 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12218 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12219 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12221 @item nntp-via-user-password
12222 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12223 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12225 @item nntp-via-envuser
12226 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12227 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12228 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12229 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12231 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12232 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12233 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12234 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12241 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12246 @item nntp-via-user-name
12247 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12248 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12250 @item nntp-via-address
12251 @vindex nntp-via-address
12252 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12257 @node Common Variables
12258 @subsubsection Common Variables
12260 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12261 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12266 @item nntp-pre-command
12267 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12268 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12269 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12270 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12271 wrapper for instance.
12274 @vindex nntp-address
12275 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12277 @item nntp-port-number
12278 @vindex nntp-port-number
12279 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12280 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12281 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12282 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12284 @item nntp-end-of-line
12285 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12286 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12287 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12288 using a non native connection function.
12290 @item nntp-telnet-command
12291 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12292 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12293 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12294 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12296 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12297 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12298 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12305 @subsection News Spool
12309 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12310 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12311 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12314 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12315 anything else) as the address.
12317 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12318 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12319 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12320 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12324 @item nnspool-inews-program
12325 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12326 Program used to post an article.
12328 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12329 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12330 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12332 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12333 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12334 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12335 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12337 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12338 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12339 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12340 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12342 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12343 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12344 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12346 @item nnspool-active-file
12347 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12348 The path to the active file.
12350 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12351 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12352 The path to the group descriptions file.
12354 @item nnspool-history-file
12355 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12356 The path to the news history file.
12358 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12359 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12360 The path to the active date file.
12362 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12363 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12364 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12367 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12368 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12370 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12371 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12372 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12378 @section Getting Mail
12379 @cindex reading mail
12382 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12386 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12387 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12388 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12389 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12390 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12391 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12392 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12393 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12394 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12395 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12396 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12397 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12398 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12402 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12403 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12405 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12406 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12407 of a culture shock.
12409 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12410 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12412 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12413 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12414 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12415 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12417 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12419 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12420 deleted? How awful!
12422 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12423 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12424 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12425 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12428 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12429 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12430 they want to treat a message.
12432 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12433 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12434 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12435 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12436 archived somewhere else.
12438 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12439 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12440 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12441 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12442 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12444 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12445 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12446 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12448 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12449 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12452 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12453 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12454 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12455 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12456 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12458 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12459 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12460 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12461 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12462 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12463 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12467 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12468 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12470 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12471 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12472 and things will happen automatically.
12474 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12475 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12478 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12481 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12482 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12483 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12484 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12485 like any other group.
12487 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12490 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12491 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12492 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12496 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12497 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12498 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12501 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12502 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12503 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12506 @node Splitting Mail
12507 @subsection Splitting Mail
12508 @cindex splitting mail
12509 @cindex mail splitting
12511 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12512 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12513 to be split into groups.
12516 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12517 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12518 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12519 ("mail.other" "")))
12522 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12523 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12524 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12525 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12526 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12527 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12528 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12531 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12534 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12535 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12536 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12537 mail belongs in that group.
12539 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12540 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12541 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12542 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12543 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12544 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12546 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12547 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12548 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12549 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12550 thinks should carry this mail message.
12552 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12553 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12554 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12555 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12557 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12558 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12559 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12560 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12561 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12563 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12566 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12567 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12568 links. If that's the case for you, set
12569 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12570 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12572 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12573 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12574 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12575 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12576 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12577 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12580 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12581 Header lines longer than the value of
12582 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12585 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12586 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12587 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12588 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12589 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12590 can be turned off completely by binding
12591 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12592 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12594 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12595 By default, splitting is not performed on all incoming messages. If
12596 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12597 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12598 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12599 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12600 happen even in this case.
12602 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12603 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12604 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12605 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12606 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12607 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12608 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12609 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12610 month's rent money.
12614 @subsection Mail Sources
12616 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12617 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12621 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12622 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12623 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12627 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12628 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12630 @cindex mail server
12633 @cindex mail source
12635 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12636 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12641 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12644 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12645 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12646 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12649 The following mail source types are available:
12653 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12659 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12660 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12661 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12664 An example file mail source:
12667 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12670 Or using the default path:
12676 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12677 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12678 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12681 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12685 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12688 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12692 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12695 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12697 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12700 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12704 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12705 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12706 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12707 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12708 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12709 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12710 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12711 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12712 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12713 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12715 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12716 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12717 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12718 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12724 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12728 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12732 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12733 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12734 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12735 predicate are considered.
12739 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12743 An example directory mail source:
12746 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12751 Get mail from a POP server.
12757 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12758 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12761 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12762 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12763 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12764 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12765 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12768 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12772 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12776 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12777 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12780 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12783 The valid format specifier characters are:
12787 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12788 included in this string.
12791 The name of the server.
12794 The port number of the server.
12797 The user name to use.
12800 The password to use.
12803 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12804 corresponding keywords.
12807 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12808 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12811 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12812 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12815 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12816 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12819 @item :authentication
12820 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12821 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12826 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12827 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12829 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12830 default user name, and default fetcher:
12836 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12839 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12840 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12843 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12846 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12850 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12851 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12852 contains exactly one mail.
12858 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12859 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12862 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12863 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12865 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12866 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12867 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12870 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12871 from locking problems).
12875 Two example maildir mail sources:
12878 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12879 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12883 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12888 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12889 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12890 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12891 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12894 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12895 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12901 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12902 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12905 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12906 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12909 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12913 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12917 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12918 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12919 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12920 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12922 @item :authentication
12923 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12924 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12925 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12926 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12929 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12930 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12931 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12937 The valid format specifier characters are:
12941 The name of the server.
12944 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12947 The port number of the server.
12950 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12951 corresponding keywords.
12954 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12955 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12958 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12959 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12960 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12961 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12962 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12963 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12966 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12967 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12968 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12969 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12972 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12973 after finishing the fetch.
12977 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12980 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12982 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12986 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12987 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12988 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12990 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12991 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12993 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
12999 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13000 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13003 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13007 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13011 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13012 folder after finishing the fetch.
13016 An example webmail source:
13019 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13021 :password "secret")
13026 @item Common Keywords
13027 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13033 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13034 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13038 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13043 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13044 useful when you use local mail and news.
13049 @subsubsection Function Interface
13051 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13052 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13053 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13054 consider the following mail-source setting:
13057 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13058 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13061 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13062 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13063 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13064 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13065 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13067 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13070 @node Mail Source Customization
13071 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13073 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13074 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13078 @item mail-source-crash-box
13079 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13080 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13081 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13083 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13084 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13085 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13087 @item mail-source-directory
13088 @vindex mail-source-directory
13089 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13090 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13091 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13094 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13095 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13096 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13097 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13098 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13099 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13101 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13102 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13103 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13105 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13106 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13107 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13108 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13113 @node Fetching Mail
13114 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13116 @vindex mail-sources
13117 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13118 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13119 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13120 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13122 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13123 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13126 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13127 mail server, you'd say something like:
13132 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13133 :password "secret")))
13136 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13140 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13141 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13144 :password "secret")))
13148 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13149 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13150 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13151 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13152 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13153 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13157 @node Mail Back End Variables
13158 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13160 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13164 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13165 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13166 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13167 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13169 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13170 @item nnmail-split-hook
13171 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13172 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13173 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13174 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13175 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13176 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13177 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13178 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13179 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13182 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13183 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13184 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13185 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13186 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13187 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13188 starting to handle the new mail) and
13189 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13190 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13191 default file modes the new mail files get:
13194 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13195 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13197 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13198 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13201 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13202 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13203 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13204 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13205 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13206 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13207 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13209 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13210 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13211 @findex delete-file
13212 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13214 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13215 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13216 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13217 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13218 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13220 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13221 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13222 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13223 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13224 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13226 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13227 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13228 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13233 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13234 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13235 @cindex mail splitting
13236 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13238 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13239 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13240 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13241 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13242 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13243 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13245 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13248 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13249 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13250 ;; from real errors.
13251 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13253 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13254 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13255 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13256 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13257 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13258 ;; Other mailing lists...
13259 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13260 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13261 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13262 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13263 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13264 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13265 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13266 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13268 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13269 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13273 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13274 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13275 the five possible split syntaxes:
13280 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13281 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13285 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13286 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13287 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13288 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13289 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13290 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13291 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13292 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13295 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13296 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13297 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13298 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13301 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13302 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13305 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13306 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13309 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13310 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13311 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13312 function should return a @var{split}.
13315 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13316 body of the messages:
13319 (defun split-on-body ()
13321 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13322 (goto-char (point-min))
13323 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13327 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13328 when the @code{:} function is run.
13331 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13332 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13333 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13337 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13341 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13342 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13343 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13344 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13345 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13347 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13348 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13349 are expanded as specified by the variable
13350 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13351 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13354 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13355 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13356 when all this splitting is performed.
13358 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13359 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13360 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13363 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13366 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13367 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13369 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13370 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13371 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13372 groupings 1 through 9.
13374 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13375 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13376 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13377 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13378 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13379 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13380 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13381 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13382 it once per thread.
13384 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13385 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13386 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13389 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13390 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13392 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13393 ;; other splits go here
13397 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13398 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13399 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13400 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13401 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13402 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13403 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13404 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13405 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13406 unless the group name matches the regexp
13407 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13408 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13409 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13410 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13411 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13412 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13413 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13414 messages goes into the new group.
13416 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13417 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13418 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13419 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13420 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13424 @node Group Mail Splitting
13425 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13426 @cindex mail splitting
13427 @cindex group mail splitting
13429 @findex gnus-group-split
13430 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13431 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13432 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13433 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13434 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13435 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13436 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13437 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13439 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13440 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13441 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13442 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13444 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13445 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13446 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13447 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13448 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13449 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13450 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13452 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13453 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13454 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13455 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13456 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13457 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13458 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13460 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13461 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13462 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13463 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13464 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13465 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13466 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13467 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13468 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13469 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13470 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13471 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13472 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13474 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13479 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13480 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13482 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13483 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13484 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13485 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13487 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13490 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13491 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13492 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13495 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13496 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13497 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13501 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13502 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13503 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13507 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13510 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13511 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13512 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13513 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13514 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13515 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13516 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13517 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13518 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13520 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13521 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13522 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13523 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13524 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13525 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13526 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13527 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13528 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13530 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13531 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13532 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13533 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13534 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13535 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13538 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13541 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13542 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13543 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13544 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13545 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13548 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13549 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13550 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13551 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13553 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13554 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13555 @cindex incorporating old mail
13556 @cindex import old mail
13558 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13559 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13560 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13563 Doing so can be quite easy.
13565 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13566 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13567 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13568 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13569 your @code{nnml} groups.
13575 Go to the group buffer.
13578 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13579 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13582 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13585 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13586 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13589 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13590 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13593 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13594 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13595 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13596 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13597 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13599 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13600 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13601 using the new mail back end.
13604 @node Expiring Mail
13605 @subsection Expiring Mail
13606 @cindex article expiry
13608 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13609 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13610 different approach to mail reading.
13612 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13613 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13614 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13615 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13616 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13617 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13620 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13621 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13622 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13623 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13624 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13625 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13626 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13627 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13629 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13630 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13631 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13632 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13633 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13634 column in the summary buffer.
13636 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13637 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13638 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13639 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13642 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13644 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13645 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13646 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13649 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13650 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13651 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13652 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13653 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13655 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13656 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13659 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13660 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13663 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13664 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13666 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13667 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13668 don't really mix very well.
13670 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13671 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13672 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13673 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13676 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13677 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13678 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13679 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13682 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13684 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13686 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13688 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13690 ((string= group "important")
13696 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13697 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13699 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13700 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13701 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13704 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13705 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13707 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13708 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13709 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13710 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13711 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13712 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13713 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13714 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13715 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13716 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13717 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13718 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13719 name or @code{delete}.
13721 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13723 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13726 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13727 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13728 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13729 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13730 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13733 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13734 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13735 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13736 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13737 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13740 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13741 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13742 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13743 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13744 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13745 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13747 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13748 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13749 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13750 easier for procmail users.
13752 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13753 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13754 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13755 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13756 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13757 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13758 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13759 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13760 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13761 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13762 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13763 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13764 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13767 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13769 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13770 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13771 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13772 auto-expire turned on.
13776 @subsection Washing Mail
13777 @cindex mail washing
13778 @cindex list server brain damage
13779 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13781 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13782 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13783 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13784 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13785 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13786 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13788 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13789 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13790 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13793 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13794 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13795 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13796 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13799 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13800 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13801 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13802 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13803 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13806 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13807 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13808 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13809 Emacs running on MS machines.
13813 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13814 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13815 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13816 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13819 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13820 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13821 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13822 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13824 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13825 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13826 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13827 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13828 into a feature by documenting it.)
13830 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13831 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13832 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13833 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13834 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13835 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13836 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13839 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13840 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13843 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13844 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13847 This can also be done non-destructively with
13848 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13850 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13851 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13852 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13854 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13855 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13857 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13858 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13859 @code{References} headers.
13863 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13864 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13865 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13869 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13870 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13871 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13878 @subsection Duplicates
13880 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13881 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13882 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13883 @cindex duplicate mails
13884 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13885 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13886 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13887 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13888 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13889 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13890 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13891 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13892 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13893 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13894 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13895 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13896 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13898 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13899 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13900 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13901 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13903 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13906 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13907 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13911 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13912 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13913 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13914 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13915 (any mail "mail.misc")
13922 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13923 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13928 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13929 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13930 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13931 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13932 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13935 @node Not Reading Mail
13936 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13938 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13939 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13940 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13942 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13943 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13944 mail, which should help.
13946 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13947 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13948 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13949 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13950 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13951 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13952 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13953 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13954 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13955 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13956 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13958 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13959 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13963 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13964 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13966 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13967 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13968 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13970 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13971 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13972 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13973 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13974 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13975 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13976 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13979 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13980 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13981 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13982 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13983 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13984 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13988 @node Unix Mail Box
13989 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13991 @cindex unix mail box
13993 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13994 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13995 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13996 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13997 which group it belongs in.
13999 Virtual server settings:
14002 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14003 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14004 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14007 @item nnmbox-active-file
14008 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14009 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14010 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14012 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14013 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14014 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14015 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14020 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14024 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14025 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14026 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14027 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14028 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14030 Virtual server settings:
14033 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14034 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14035 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14037 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14038 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14039 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14040 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14042 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14043 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14044 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14050 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14052 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14054 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14055 format. It should be used with some caution.
14057 @vindex nnml-directory
14058 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14059 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14060 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14061 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14063 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14066 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14067 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14068 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14069 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14070 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14071 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14072 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14073 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14075 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14076 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14077 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14078 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14080 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14082 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14083 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14084 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14085 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14086 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14087 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14088 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14089 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14092 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14093 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14094 them next time it starts.
14096 Virtual server settings:
14099 @item nnml-directory
14100 @vindex nnml-directory
14101 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14102 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14105 @item nnml-active-file
14106 @vindex nnml-active-file
14107 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14108 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14110 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14111 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14112 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14113 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14115 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14116 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14117 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14120 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14121 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14122 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14123 default is @code{nil}.
14125 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14126 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14127 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14129 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14130 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14131 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14133 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14134 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14135 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14136 default is @code{nil}.
14138 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14139 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14140 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14142 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14143 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14144 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14149 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14150 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14151 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14152 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14153 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14154 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14155 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14160 @subsubsection MH Spool
14162 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14164 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14165 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14166 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14167 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14169 Virtual server settings:
14172 @item nnmh-directory
14173 @vindex nnmh-directory
14174 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14175 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14178 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14179 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14180 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14184 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14185 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14186 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14187 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14188 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14189 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14190 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14195 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14197 @cindex mbox folders
14198 @cindex mail folders
14200 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14201 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14202 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14205 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14207 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14208 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14209 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14210 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14211 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14212 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14213 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14214 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14215 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14216 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14218 Virtual server settings:
14221 @item nnfolder-directory
14222 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14223 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14224 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14227 @item nnfolder-active-file
14228 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14229 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14231 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14232 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14233 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14234 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14236 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14237 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14238 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14241 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14242 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14243 @cindex backup files
14244 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14245 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14246 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14247 your @file{.emacs} file:
14250 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14251 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14253 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14256 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14257 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14258 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14259 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14260 extract some information from it before removing it.
14262 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14263 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14264 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14265 default is @code{nil}.
14267 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14268 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14269 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14271 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14272 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14273 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14274 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14276 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14277 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14278 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14279 default is @code{nil}.
14281 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14282 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14283 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14285 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14286 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14287 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14288 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14293 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14294 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14295 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14296 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14297 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14298 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14301 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14302 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14304 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14305 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14306 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14307 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14308 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14310 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14311 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14312 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14313 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14314 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14315 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14316 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14317 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14320 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14321 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14322 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14323 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14328 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14329 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14330 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14331 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14332 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14333 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14334 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14335 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14336 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14337 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14338 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14339 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14340 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14345 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14346 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14347 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14348 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14349 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14350 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14351 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14352 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14353 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14354 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14355 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14356 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14357 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14358 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14360 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14361 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14366 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14367 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14368 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14369 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14370 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14371 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14372 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14373 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14374 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14375 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14376 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14377 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14378 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14379 provided by the active file and overviews.
14381 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14382 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14383 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14384 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14385 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14388 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14389 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14394 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14395 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14396 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14397 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14398 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14399 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14400 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14404 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14405 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14406 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14407 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14408 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14409 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14410 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14411 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14412 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14414 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14415 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14416 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14417 friendly mail back end all over.
14421 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14422 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14423 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14424 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14425 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14426 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14427 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14428 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14431 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14432 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14433 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14434 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14435 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14436 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14437 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14438 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14439 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14440 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14441 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14443 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14444 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14445 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14446 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14447 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14448 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14449 This will probably be changed in the future.
14451 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14452 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14453 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14454 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14455 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14458 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14459 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14461 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14462 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14463 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14464 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14465 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14466 would) to make it use less memory.
14468 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14469 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14470 depending in part on your filesystem.
14472 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14473 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14478 @node Browsing the Web
14479 @section Browsing the Web
14481 @cindex browsing the web
14485 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14486 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14487 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14488 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14489 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14490 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14491 even know what a news group is.
14493 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14494 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14495 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14496 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14497 you mad in the end.
14499 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14502 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14503 interfaces to these sources.
14507 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14508 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14509 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14510 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14511 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14512 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14515 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14517 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14518 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14519 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14520 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14521 though, you should be ok.
14523 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14524 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14525 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14526 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14527 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14529 @node Archiving Mail
14530 @subsection Archiving Mail
14531 @cindex archiving mail
14532 @cindex backup of mail
14534 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14535 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14536 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14537 marks is fairly simple.
14539 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14540 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14543 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14544 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14545 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14546 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14547 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14548 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14549 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14550 before you restore the data.
14552 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14553 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14554 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14555 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14556 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14557 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14558 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14559 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14560 is unnecessary in that case.
14563 @subsection Web Searches
14568 @cindex Usenet searches
14569 @cindex searching the Usenet
14571 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14572 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14573 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14574 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14575 searches without having to use a browser.
14577 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14578 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14579 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14580 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14581 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14583 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14584 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14585 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14586 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14587 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14588 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14589 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14590 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14591 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14592 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14595 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14596 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14597 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14598 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14599 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14600 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14602 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14603 to use @code{nnweb}.
14605 Virtual server variables:
14610 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14611 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14612 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14615 @vindex nnweb-search
14616 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14618 @item nnweb-max-hits
14619 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14620 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14623 @item nnweb-type-definition
14624 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14625 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14626 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14631 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14635 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14638 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14641 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14645 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14652 @subsection Slashdot
14656 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14657 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14658 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14660 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14661 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14664 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14665 '((nnslashdot "")))
14668 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14669 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14670 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14671 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14672 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14675 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14676 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14678 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14679 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14680 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14681 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14682 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14683 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14686 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14689 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14690 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14691 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14692 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14693 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14694 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14695 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14697 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14698 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14699 The login name to use when posting.
14701 @item nnslashdot-password
14702 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14703 The password to use when posting.
14705 @item nnslashdot-directory
14706 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14707 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14708 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14710 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14711 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14712 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14713 news articles and comments. The default is
14714 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14716 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14717 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14718 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14720 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14722 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14723 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14724 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14726 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14728 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14729 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14730 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14732 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14733 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14734 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14735 updated. The default is 0.
14742 @subsection Ultimate
14744 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14746 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14747 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14748 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14749 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14751 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14752 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14753 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14754 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14755 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14756 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14757 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14759 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14762 @item nnultimate-directory
14763 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14764 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14765 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14770 @subsection Web Archive
14772 @cindex Web Archive
14774 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14775 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14776 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14777 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14780 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14781 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14782 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14783 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14784 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14785 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14786 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14788 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14791 @item nnwarchive-directory
14792 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14793 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14794 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14796 @item nnwarchive-login
14797 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14798 The account name on the web server.
14800 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14801 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14802 The password for your account on the web server.
14810 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14811 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14812 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14815 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14816 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14819 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14822 @item nnrss-directory
14823 @vindex nnrss-directory
14824 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14825 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14829 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14830 the summary buffer.
14833 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14834 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14836 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14838 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14839 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14842 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14845 (require 'browse-url)
14847 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14849 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14852 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14853 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14855 (browse-url (cdr url))
14856 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14858 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14859 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14860 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14861 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14864 @node Customizing w3
14865 @subsection Customizing w3
14871 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14872 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14873 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14875 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14876 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14877 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14880 (eval-after-load "w3"
14882 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14883 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14884 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14885 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14887 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14890 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14891 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14900 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14901 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14902 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14903 specify the network address of the server.
14905 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14906 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14907 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14908 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14909 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14911 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14912 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14913 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14914 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14916 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14917 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14918 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14919 usage explained in this section.
14921 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14922 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14923 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14926 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14927 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14928 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14930 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14931 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14932 ; a UW server running on localhost
14934 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14935 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14936 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14937 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14938 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14939 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14940 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14941 (nnimap-stream network))
14942 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14944 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14945 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14946 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14949 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14954 @item nnimap-address
14955 @vindex nnimap-address
14957 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14958 server name if not specified.
14960 @item nnimap-server-port
14961 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14962 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14964 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14967 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14968 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14971 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14972 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14973 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14974 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14975 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14976 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14977 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14979 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14980 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14981 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14984 Example server specification:
14987 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14988 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14989 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14992 @item nnimap-stream
14993 @vindex nnimap-stream
14994 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14995 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14996 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14997 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14999 Example server specification:
15002 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15003 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15006 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15010 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15011 @samp{imtest} program.
15013 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15015 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15016 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15019 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15020 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15021 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15023 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15025 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15028 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15029 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15030 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15031 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15032 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15033 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15034 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15035 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15036 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15039 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15040 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15041 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15042 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15043 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15044 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15045 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15046 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15047 distribution, for instance).
15049 @vindex imap-shell-program
15050 @vindex imap-shell-host
15051 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15052 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15054 @item nnimap-authenticator
15055 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15057 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15058 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15060 Example server specification:
15063 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15064 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15067 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15071 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15072 external program @code{imtest}.
15074 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15077 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15078 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15080 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15082 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15084 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15087 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15089 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15090 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15091 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15092 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15093 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15094 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15097 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15098 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15099 running in circles yet?
15101 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15102 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15105 The possible options are:
15110 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15113 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15114 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15115 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15116 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15118 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15123 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15124 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15126 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15127 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15128 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15129 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15130 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15133 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15134 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15137 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15138 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15139 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15140 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15143 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15144 as ticked for other users.
15146 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15148 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15150 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15151 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15152 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15153 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15155 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15156 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15157 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15158 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15160 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15161 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15163 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15164 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15165 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15171 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15172 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15173 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15178 @node Splitting in IMAP
15179 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15180 @cindex splitting imap mail
15182 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15183 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15184 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15185 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15186 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15190 Here are the variables of interest:
15194 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15195 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15197 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15199 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15200 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15202 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15204 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15205 @cindex splitting, inbox
15207 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15209 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15210 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15214 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15215 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15218 No nnmail equivalent.
15220 @item nnimap-split-rule
15221 @cindex Splitting, rules
15222 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15224 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15227 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15228 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15229 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15230 Neither did I, we need examples.
15233 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15235 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15236 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15237 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15240 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15241 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15242 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15244 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15245 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15249 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15252 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15253 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15255 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15256 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15257 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15258 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15260 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15261 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15262 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15263 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15264 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15265 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15267 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15268 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15269 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15271 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15272 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15273 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15275 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15277 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15278 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15279 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15282 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15283 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15284 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15285 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15286 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15287 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15290 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15291 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15292 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15293 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15294 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15295 group/function elements.
15297 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15299 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15301 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15303 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15304 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15306 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15307 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15308 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15311 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15312 @cindex splitting, fancy
15313 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15314 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15316 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15317 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15318 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15320 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15321 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15322 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15323 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15328 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15329 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15332 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15336 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15337 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15338 @cindex editing imap acls
15339 @cindex Access Control Lists
15340 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15342 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15344 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15345 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15346 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15349 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15350 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15351 editing window with detailed instructions.
15353 Some possible uses:
15357 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15358 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15359 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15361 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15362 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15363 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15367 @node Expunging mailboxes
15368 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15372 @cindex Manual expunging
15374 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15376 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15377 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15378 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15380 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15385 @node Other Sources
15386 @section Other Sources
15388 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15389 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15393 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15394 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15395 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15396 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15397 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15401 @node Directory Groups
15402 @subsection Directory Groups
15404 @cindex directory groups
15406 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15407 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15410 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15411 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15412 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15413 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15415 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15416 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15417 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15418 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15419 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15421 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15423 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15424 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15425 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15426 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15429 @node Anything Groups
15430 @subsection Anything Groups
15433 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15434 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15435 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15438 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15439 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15440 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15441 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15442 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15443 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15444 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15445 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15446 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15447 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15450 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15451 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15452 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15453 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15455 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15456 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15457 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15458 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15460 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15461 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15462 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15463 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15464 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15465 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15466 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15467 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15472 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15473 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15474 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15475 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15477 @item nneething-exclude-files
15478 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15479 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15480 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15482 @item nneething-include-files
15483 @vindex nneething-include-files
15484 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15485 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15487 @item nneething-map-file
15488 @vindex nneething-map-file
15489 Name of the map files.
15493 @node Document Groups
15494 @subsection Document Groups
15496 @cindex documentation group
15499 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15500 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15507 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15512 The standard Unix mbox file.
15514 @cindex MMDF mail box
15516 The MMDF mail box format.
15519 Several news articles appended into a file.
15522 @cindex rnews batch files
15523 The rnews batch transport format.
15524 @cindex forwarded messages
15527 Forwarded articles.
15530 Netscape mail boxes.
15533 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15535 @item standard-digest
15536 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15539 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15541 @item lanl-gov-announce
15542 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15544 @item rfc822-forward
15545 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15548 The Outlook mail box.
15551 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15554 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15557 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15560 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15566 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15569 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15575 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15576 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15577 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15580 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15581 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15582 group. And that's it.
15584 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15585 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15586 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15587 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15588 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15589 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15590 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15591 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15592 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15593 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15595 Virtual server variables:
15598 @item nndoc-article-type
15599 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15600 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15601 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15602 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15603 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15604 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15606 @item nndoc-post-type
15607 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15608 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15609 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15614 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15618 @node Document Server Internals
15619 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15621 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15622 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15623 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15624 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15626 First, here's an example document type definition:
15630 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15631 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15634 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15635 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15636 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15637 types can be defined with very few settings:
15640 @item first-article
15641 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15642 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15645 @item article-begin
15646 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15647 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15649 @item head-begin-function
15650 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15653 @item nndoc-head-begin
15654 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15657 @item nndoc-head-end
15658 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15659 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15661 @item body-begin-function
15662 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15666 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15669 @item body-end-function
15670 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15674 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15677 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15678 regexp will be totally ignored.
15682 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15683 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15684 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15685 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15686 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15689 @item prepare-body-function
15690 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15691 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15692 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15694 @item article-transform-function
15695 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15696 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15697 body of the article.
15699 @item generate-head-function
15700 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15701 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15702 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15703 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15707 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15712 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15713 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15714 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15715 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15716 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15717 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15718 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15719 (subtype digest guess))
15722 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15723 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15724 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15725 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15726 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15728 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15729 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15730 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15731 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15732 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
15733 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15734 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15735 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15736 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15737 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15745 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15746 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15747 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15749 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15750 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15751 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15754 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15755 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15756 that interested in doing things properly.
15758 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15759 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15762 First some terminology:
15767 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15768 get news and/or mail from.
15771 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15772 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15775 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15779 @item message packets
15780 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15781 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15782 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15784 @item response packets
15785 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15786 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15787 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15797 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15798 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15799 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15800 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15803 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15806 You put the packet in your home directory.
15809 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15810 the native or secondary server.
15813 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15814 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15817 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15821 You transfer this packet to the server.
15824 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15827 You then repeat until you die.
15831 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15832 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15835 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15836 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15837 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15841 @node SOUP Commands
15842 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15844 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15848 @kindex G s b (Group)
15849 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15850 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15851 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15852 process/prefix convention.
15855 @kindex G s w (Group)
15856 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15857 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15860 @kindex G s s (Group)
15861 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15862 Send all replies from the replies packet
15863 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15866 @kindex G s p (Group)
15867 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15868 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15871 @kindex G s r (Group)
15872 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15873 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15876 @kindex O s (Summary)
15877 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15878 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15879 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15880 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15885 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15890 @item gnus-soup-directory
15891 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15892 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15893 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15895 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15896 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15897 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15898 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15900 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15901 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15902 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15903 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15905 @item gnus-soup-packer
15906 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15907 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15908 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15910 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15911 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15912 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15913 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15915 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15916 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15917 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15919 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15920 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15921 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15922 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15928 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15931 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15932 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15933 you can read them at leisure.
15935 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15939 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15940 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15941 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15942 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15944 @item nnsoup-directory
15945 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15946 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15947 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15949 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15950 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15951 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15952 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15954 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15955 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15956 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15957 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15958 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15960 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15961 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15962 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15963 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15965 @item nnsoup-active-file
15966 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15967 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15968 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15969 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15970 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15972 @item nnsoup-packer
15973 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15974 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15975 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15977 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15978 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15979 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15980 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15982 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15983 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15984 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15987 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15988 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15989 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15992 @item nnsoup-always-save
15993 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15994 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16000 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16002 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16003 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16004 more for that to happen.
16006 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16007 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16008 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16011 In specific, this is what it does:
16014 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16015 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16018 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16019 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16020 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16023 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16024 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16025 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16028 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16029 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16030 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16032 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16038 @item nngateway-address
16039 @vindex nngateway-address
16040 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16042 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16043 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16044 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16045 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16046 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16047 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16048 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16051 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16052 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16053 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16056 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16059 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16062 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16065 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16067 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16070 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16071 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16072 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16074 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16076 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16077 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16078 @code{nngateway-address}.
16083 (setq gnus-post-method
16085 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16086 (nngateway-header-transformation
16087 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16095 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16098 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16103 @node Combined Groups
16104 @section Combined Groups
16106 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16110 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16111 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16115 @node Virtual Groups
16116 @subsection Virtual Groups
16118 @cindex virtual groups
16119 @cindex merging groups
16121 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16124 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16125 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16126 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16128 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16129 regexp to match component groups.
16131 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16132 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16133 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16134 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16135 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16136 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16137 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16138 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16140 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16141 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16144 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16147 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16148 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16150 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16151 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16152 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16153 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16156 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16159 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16160 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16161 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16163 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16164 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16165 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16166 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16167 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16169 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16170 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16171 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16173 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16174 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16175 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16176 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16177 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16178 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16179 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16180 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16181 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16182 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16183 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16185 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16186 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16187 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16188 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16189 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16190 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16191 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16193 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16194 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16196 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16197 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16201 @node Kibozed Groups
16202 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16206 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16207 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16208 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16209 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16211 @kindex G k (Group)
16212 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16215 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16216 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16217 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16218 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16220 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16221 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16222 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16224 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16225 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16226 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16227 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16228 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16229 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16230 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16231 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16233 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16234 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16235 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16236 Stranger things have happened.
16238 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16239 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16241 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16242 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16243 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16244 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16245 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16246 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16248 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16249 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16252 @node Gnus Unplugged
16253 @section Gnus Unplugged
16258 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16260 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16261 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16262 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16263 read news. Believe it or not.
16265 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16266 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16267 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16268 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16269 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16271 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16272 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16273 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16274 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16275 reading news on a machine.
16277 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16278 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16280 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16283 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16284 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16285 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16286 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16287 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16288 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16289 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16290 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16291 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16292 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16293 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16298 @subsection Agent Basics
16300 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16302 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16303 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16304 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16305 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16307 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16308 connected to the net continuously.
16310 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16311 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16313 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16318 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16319 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16320 already fetched while in this mode.
16323 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16324 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16325 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16326 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16327 Source Specifiers}).
16330 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16331 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16332 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16333 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16334 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16337 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16338 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16339 then you read the news offline.
16342 And then you go to step 2.
16345 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16351 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16352 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16353 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16354 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16355 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16356 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16357 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16358 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16361 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16368 @node Agent Categories
16369 @subsection Agent Categories
16371 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16372 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16373 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16374 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16375 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16376 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16377 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16379 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16380 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16381 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16382 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16383 managing categories.
16386 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16387 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16388 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16392 @node Category Syntax
16393 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16395 A category consists of two things.
16399 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16400 are eligible for downloading; and
16403 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16404 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16405 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16408 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16409 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16410 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16411 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16413 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16414 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16415 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16417 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16418 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16419 operators sprinkled in between.
16421 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16423 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16424 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16430 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16431 short (for some value of ``short'').
16433 Here's a more complex predicate:
16442 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16443 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16446 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16447 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16448 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16450 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16451 you want to do, you can write your own.
16455 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16456 lines; default 100.
16459 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16460 lines; default 200.
16463 True iff the article has a download score less than
16464 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16467 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16468 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16471 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16472 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16473 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16482 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16483 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16484 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16487 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16488 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16489 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16490 something along the lines of the following:
16493 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16494 "Say whether an article is old."
16495 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16496 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16499 with the predicate then defined as:
16502 (not my-article-old-p)
16505 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16506 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16510 (require 'gnus-agent)
16511 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16512 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16513 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16516 and simply specify your predicate as:
16522 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16523 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16524 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16525 just don't give a damn.
16527 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16528 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16529 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16530 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16531 parameters like so:
16534 (agent-predicate . short)
16537 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16538 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16539 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16541 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16544 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16547 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16548 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16549 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16552 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16553 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16554 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16555 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16556 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16557 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16559 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16560 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16561 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16562 if it's to be specific to that group.
16564 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16571 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16572 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16578 Category specification
16582 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16588 Group Parameter specification
16591 (agent-score ("from"
16592 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16597 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16603 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16610 Category specification
16613 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16619 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16623 Group Parameter specification
16626 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16629 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16634 Use @code{normal} score files
16636 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16637 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16638 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16639 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16641 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16642 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16643 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16644 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16648 Category Specification
16655 Group Parameter specification
16658 (agent-score . file)
16663 @node Category Buffer
16664 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16666 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16667 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16668 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16670 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16674 @kindex q (Category)
16675 @findex gnus-category-exit
16676 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16679 @kindex k (Category)
16680 @findex gnus-category-kill
16681 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16684 @kindex c (Category)
16685 @findex gnus-category-copy
16686 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16689 @kindex a (Category)
16690 @findex gnus-category-add
16691 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16694 @kindex p (Category)
16695 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16696 Edit the predicate of the current category
16697 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16700 @kindex g (Category)
16701 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16702 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16703 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16706 @kindex s (Category)
16707 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16708 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16709 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16712 @kindex l (Category)
16713 @findex gnus-category-list
16714 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16718 @node Category Variables
16719 @subsubsection Category Variables
16722 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16723 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16724 Hook run in category buffers.
16726 @item gnus-category-line-format
16727 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16728 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16729 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16733 The name of the category.
16736 The number of groups in the category.
16739 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16740 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16741 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16743 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16744 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16745 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16747 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16748 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16749 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16751 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16752 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16753 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16756 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16757 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16758 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16764 @node Agent Commands
16765 @subsection Agent Commands
16767 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16768 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16769 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16773 * Group Agent Commands::
16774 * Summary Agent Commands::
16775 * Server Agent Commands::
16778 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16779 following incantation:
16781 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16783 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16788 @node Group Agent Commands
16789 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16793 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16794 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16795 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16796 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16799 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16800 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16801 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16804 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16805 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16806 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16807 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16810 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16811 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16812 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16813 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16816 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16817 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16818 Add the current group to an Agent category
16819 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16820 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16823 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16824 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16825 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16826 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16827 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16830 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16831 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16832 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16838 @node Summary Agent Commands
16839 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16843 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16844 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16845 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16848 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16849 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16850 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16851 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16854 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16855 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16856 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16859 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16860 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16861 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16864 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16865 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16866 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16867 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16872 @node Server Agent Commands
16873 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16877 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16878 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16879 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16880 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16883 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16884 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16885 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16886 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16891 @node Agent as Cache
16892 @subsection Agent as Cache
16894 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16895 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16896 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16897 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16898 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16899 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16900 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16901 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16902 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16904 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16905 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16908 @subsection Agent Expiry
16910 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16911 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16912 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16913 @cindex Agent expiry
16914 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16917 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16918 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16919 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16920 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16921 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16922 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16924 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16925 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16926 expiry in different groups.
16929 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16935 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16936 method---it must always match all groups.
16938 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16939 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16940 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16941 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16942 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16944 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16945 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16946 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16947 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16949 @node Agent and IMAP
16950 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16952 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16953 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16954 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16955 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16957 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16958 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16959 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16960 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16962 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16963 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
16964 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
16965 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16967 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16968 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16969 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
16970 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
16971 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
16972 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16974 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
16975 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
16976 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16977 in the group buffer.
16979 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16980 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16985 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16988 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16992 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16993 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16994 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16995 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16996 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16997 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16998 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16999 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17002 @node Outgoing Messages
17003 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17005 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17006 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17007 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17009 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17010 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17011 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17012 messages in the draft group.
17016 @node Agent Variables
17017 @subsection Agent Variables
17020 @item gnus-agent-directory
17021 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17022 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17023 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17025 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17026 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17027 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17028 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17029 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17032 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17033 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17034 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17036 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17037 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17038 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17040 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17041 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17042 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17044 @item gnus-agent-cache
17045 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17046 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17047 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17048 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17050 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17051 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17052 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17053 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17054 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17055 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17056 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17062 @node Example Setup
17063 @subsection Example Setup
17065 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17066 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17067 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17070 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17071 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17072 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17074 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17075 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17076 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17078 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17079 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17081 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17082 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17083 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17086 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17087 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17090 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17091 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17092 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17093 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17094 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17097 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17098 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17099 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17100 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17101 back all the killed groups.)
17103 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17104 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17105 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17108 @node Batching Agents
17109 @subsection Batching Agents
17111 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17112 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17113 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17117 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17121 @node Agent Caveats
17122 @subsection Agent Caveats
17124 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17125 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17129 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17133 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17135 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17139 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17140 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17141 locally stored articles.
17148 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17149 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17150 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17153 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17154 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17155 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17156 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17157 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17159 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17160 before generating the summary buffer.
17162 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17163 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17164 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17166 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17167 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17168 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17169 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17172 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17173 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17174 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17175 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17176 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17177 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17178 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17179 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17180 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17181 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17182 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17183 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17184 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17185 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17186 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17187 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17188 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17192 @node Summary Score Commands
17193 @section Summary Score Commands
17194 @cindex score commands
17196 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17197 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17198 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17199 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17200 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17202 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17203 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17204 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17205 score file the current one.
17207 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17212 @kindex V s (Summary)
17213 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17214 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17217 @kindex V S (Summary)
17218 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17219 Display the score of the current article
17220 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17223 @kindex V t (Summary)
17224 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17225 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17226 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17229 @kindex V w (Summary)
17230 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17231 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17234 @kindex V R (Summary)
17235 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17236 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17237 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17238 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17239 effect you're having.
17242 @kindex V c (Summary)
17243 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17244 Make a different score file the current
17245 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17248 @kindex V e (Summary)
17249 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17250 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17251 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17255 @kindex V f (Summary)
17256 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17257 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17258 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17261 @kindex V F (Summary)
17262 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17263 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17264 after editing score files.
17267 @kindex V C (Summary)
17268 @findex gnus-score-customize
17269 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17270 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17274 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17279 @kindex V m (Summary)
17280 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17281 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17282 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17285 @kindex V x (Summary)
17286 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17287 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17288 expunge all articles below this score
17289 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17292 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17293 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17296 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17297 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17301 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17302 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17304 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17305 keys are available:
17309 Score on the author name.
17312 Score on the subject line.
17315 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17318 Score on the @code{References} line.
17324 Score on the number of lines.
17327 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17330 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17331 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17334 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17335 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17336 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17345 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17351 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17352 what headers you are scoring on.
17364 Substring matching.
17367 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17396 Greater than number.
17401 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17402 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17403 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17408 Temporary score entry.
17411 Permanent score entry.
17414 Immediately scoring.
17418 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17419 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17420 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17424 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17425 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17426 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17427 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17429 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17430 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17431 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17432 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17433 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17435 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17436 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17437 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17438 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17439 current score file.
17441 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17442 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17443 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17446 @node Group Score Commands
17447 @section Group Score Commands
17448 @cindex group score commands
17450 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17455 @kindex W f (Group)
17456 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17457 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17458 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17459 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17463 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17465 @findex gnus-batch-score
17466 @cindex batch scoring
17468 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17472 @node Score Variables
17473 @section Score Variables
17474 @cindex score variables
17478 @item gnus-use-scoring
17479 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17480 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17481 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17483 @item gnus-kill-killed
17484 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17485 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17486 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17487 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17488 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17489 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17490 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17492 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17493 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17494 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17495 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17496 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17498 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17499 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17500 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17501 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17503 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17504 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17505 @cindex score cache
17506 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17507 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17508 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
17509 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17510 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17511 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17514 @item gnus-save-score
17515 @vindex gnus-save-score
17516 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17517 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17518 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17520 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17521 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17522 across group visits.
17524 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17525 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17526 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17527 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17528 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17529 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17530 manually entered data.
17532 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17533 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17534 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17536 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17537 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17538 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17539 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17540 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17541 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17543 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17544 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17545 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17546 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17548 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17549 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17550 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17551 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17553 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17554 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17555 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17556 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17558 Predefined functions available are:
17561 @item gnus-score-find-single
17562 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17563 Only apply the group's own score file.
17565 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17566 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17567 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17568 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17569 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17570 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17571 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17572 then a regexp match is done.
17574 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17575 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17577 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17578 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17579 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17580 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17582 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17583 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17584 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17585 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17586 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17590 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17591 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17592 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17593 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17594 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17595 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17596 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17599 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17600 overall score file, you could use the value
17602 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17603 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17606 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17607 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17608 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17609 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17610 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17612 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17613 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17614 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17615 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17616 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17617 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17618 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17619 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17621 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17622 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17623 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17625 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17626 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17627 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17628 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17629 threading---according to the current value of
17630 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17631 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17632 simplified in this manner.
17637 @node Score File Format
17638 @section Score File Format
17639 @cindex score file format
17641 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17642 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17643 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17645 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17649 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17651 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17653 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17655 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17660 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17664 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17665 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17666 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17667 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17671 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17672 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17674 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17675 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17676 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17678 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17683 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17684 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17685 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17686 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17687 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17688 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17689 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17690 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17691 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17692 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17693 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17694 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17695 to articles that matches these score entries.
17697 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17698 score entry has one to four elements.
17702 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17703 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17707 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17708 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17709 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17710 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17711 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17712 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17715 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17716 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17717 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17718 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17719 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17722 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17723 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17724 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17725 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17728 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17729 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17730 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17731 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17732 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17733 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17734 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17735 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17736 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17737 instead, if you feel like.
17740 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17741 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17742 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17743 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17744 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17745 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17748 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17752 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17753 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17755 These predicates are true if
17758 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17761 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17762 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17769 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17770 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17771 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17772 it's not. I think.)
17774 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17775 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17776 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17777 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17780 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17781 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17782 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17783 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17784 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17785 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17786 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17790 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17791 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17792 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17793 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17794 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17795 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17796 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17797 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17800 @item Head, Body, All
17801 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17805 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17806 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17807 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17808 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17809 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17810 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17811 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17815 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17816 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17817 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17818 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17819 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17820 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17821 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17822 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17823 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17824 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17825 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17829 @cindex Score File Atoms
17831 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17832 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17835 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17836 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17838 @item mark-and-expunge
17839 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17840 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17843 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17844 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17845 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17846 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17847 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17850 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17851 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17854 @item exclude-files
17855 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17856 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17860 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17861 ignored when handling global score files.
17864 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17865 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17866 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17867 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17870 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17871 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17872 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17873 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17875 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17879 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17882 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17883 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17884 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17885 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17886 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17888 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17889 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17890 scoring rules exist.
17893 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17894 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17895 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17896 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17897 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17898 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17899 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17900 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17901 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17902 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17903 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17907 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17908 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17909 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17910 file for a number of groups.
17913 @cindex local variables
17914 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17915 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17916 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17917 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17918 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17922 @node Score File Editing
17923 @section Score File Editing
17925 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17926 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17927 with a mode for that.
17929 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17930 additional commands:
17935 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17936 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17937 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17938 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17941 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17942 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17943 Insert the current date in numerical format
17944 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17945 you were wondering.
17948 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17949 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17950 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17951 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17952 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17957 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17959 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17960 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17962 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17963 e} to begin editing score files.
17966 @node Adaptive Scoring
17967 @section Adaptive Scoring
17968 @cindex adaptive scoring
17970 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17971 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17972 stupidity, to be precise.
17974 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17975 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17976 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17977 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17978 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17979 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17980 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17981 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17982 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17984 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17985 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17986 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17987 might look something like this:
17990 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17991 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17992 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17993 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17994 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17995 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17996 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17997 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17998 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17999 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18000 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18001 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18004 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18005 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18006 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18007 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18008 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18009 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18012 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18013 will be applied to each article.
18015 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18016 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18017 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18018 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18020 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18021 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18022 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18023 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18025 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18026 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18027 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18028 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18030 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18031 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18032 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18033 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18034 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18035 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18037 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18038 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18039 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18040 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18041 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18042 aspirins afterwards.)
18044 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18045 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18046 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18048 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18049 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18050 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18052 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18053 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18054 let you use different rules in different groups.
18056 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18057 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18058 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18061 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18062 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18063 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18064 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18065 the length of the match is less than
18066 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18067 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18070 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18071 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18072 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18073 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18074 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18077 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18078 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18079 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18080 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18081 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18084 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18085 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18086 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18087 score with 30 points.
18089 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18090 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18091 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18092 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18093 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18095 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18096 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18097 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18098 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18099 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18101 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18102 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18103 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18104 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18106 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18107 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18108 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18109 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18111 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18112 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18113 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18114 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18115 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18117 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18118 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18119 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18121 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18122 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18123 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18124 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18127 @node Home Score File
18128 @section Home Score File
18130 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18131 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18132 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18133 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18135 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18136 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18137 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18139 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18140 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18145 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18149 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18150 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18154 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18158 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18159 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18162 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18163 the home score file.
18166 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18169 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18174 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18177 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18178 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18181 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18182 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18184 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18186 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18187 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18190 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18191 Other functions include
18194 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18195 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18196 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18197 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18201 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18202 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18203 their own home score files:
18206 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18207 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18208 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18209 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18210 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18213 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18214 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18215 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18216 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18217 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18219 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18220 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18221 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18222 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18223 precedence over this variable.
18226 @node Followups To Yourself
18227 @section Followups To Yourself
18229 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18230 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18231 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18232 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18233 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18234 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18238 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18239 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18240 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18243 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18244 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18245 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18249 @vindex message-sent-hook
18250 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18251 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18253 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18257 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18258 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18262 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18263 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18266 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18267 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18272 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18276 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18277 is system-dependent.
18280 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18281 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18282 @cindex scoring on other headers
18284 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18285 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18286 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18287 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18288 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18290 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18291 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18292 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18293 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18294 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18296 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18299 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18300 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18303 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18304 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18305 time if you have much mail.
18307 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18308 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18314 @section Scoring Tips
18315 @cindex scoring tips
18321 @cindex scoring crossposts
18322 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18323 the @code{Xref} header.
18325 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18328 @item Multiple crossposts
18329 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18330 more than, say, 3 groups:
18333 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18337 @item Matching on the body
18338 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18339 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18340 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18341 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18342 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18343 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18344 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18347 @item Marking as read
18348 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18349 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18350 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18354 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18356 @item Negated character classes
18357 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18358 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18359 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18363 @node Reverse Scoring
18364 @section Reverse Scoring
18365 @cindex reverse scoring
18367 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18368 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18369 like this in your score file:
18373 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18378 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18379 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18382 @node Global Score Files
18383 @section Global Score Files
18384 @cindex global score files
18386 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18387 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18388 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18390 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18391 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18392 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18394 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18395 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18396 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18397 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18398 files are applicable to which group.
18400 To use the score file
18401 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18402 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18406 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18407 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18408 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18411 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18413 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18414 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18415 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18416 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18418 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18419 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18421 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18422 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18423 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18424 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18425 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18426 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18428 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18434 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18436 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18438 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18440 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18441 lowered out of existence.
18443 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18444 articles completely.
18447 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18448 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18449 old articles for a long time.
18452 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18453 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18454 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18455 holding our breath yet?
18459 @section Kill Files
18462 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18463 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18464 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18466 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18467 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18468 files into score files.
18470 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18471 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18472 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18473 that isn't a very good idea.
18475 Normal kill files look like this:
18478 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18479 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18483 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18484 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18486 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18487 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18490 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18495 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18496 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18497 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18500 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18501 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18502 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18505 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18510 @kindex M-k (Group)
18511 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18512 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18515 @kindex M-K (Group)
18516 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18517 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18520 Kill file variables:
18523 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18524 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18525 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18526 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18527 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18528 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18529 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18531 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18532 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18533 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18534 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18537 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18538 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18539 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18540 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18541 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18542 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18543 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18544 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18545 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18547 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18548 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18549 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18554 @node Converting Kill Files
18555 @section Converting Kill Files
18557 @cindex converting kill files
18559 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18560 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18561 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18564 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18565 You can fetch it from
18566 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18568 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18569 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18570 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18578 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18579 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18580 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18581 news articles generated every day.
18583 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18584 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18585 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18586 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18587 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18588 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18589 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18590 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18593 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18594 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18597 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18598 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18599 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18600 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18604 @node Using GroupLens
18605 @subsection Using GroupLens
18607 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18609 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18610 better bit in town at the moment.
18612 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18616 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18617 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18618 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18619 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18621 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18622 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18623 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18624 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18626 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18627 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18628 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18632 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18633 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18634 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18635 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18636 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18637 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18640 @node Rating Articles
18641 @subsection Rating Articles
18643 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18644 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18645 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18646 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18649 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18654 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18655 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18656 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18659 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18660 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18661 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18662 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18663 threads in rec.humor.
18667 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18668 the score of the article you're reading.
18673 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18674 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18675 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18678 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18679 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18680 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18684 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18685 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18688 @node Displaying Predictions
18689 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18691 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18692 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18693 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18694 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18695 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18697 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18698 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18699 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18700 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18701 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18702 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18703 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18704 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18705 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18706 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18707 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18708 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18709 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18711 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18712 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18713 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18714 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18716 The following are valid values for that variable.
18719 @item prediction-spot
18720 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18723 @item confidence-interval
18724 A numeric confidence interval.
18726 @item prediction-bar
18727 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18729 @item confidence-bar
18730 Numerical confidence.
18732 @item confidence-spot
18733 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18735 @item prediction-num
18736 Plain-old numeric value.
18738 @item confidence-plus-minus
18739 Prediction +/- confidence.
18744 @node GroupLens Variables
18745 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18749 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18750 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18751 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18752 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18755 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18756 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18759 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18760 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18762 @item grouplens-score-offset
18763 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18764 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18767 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18768 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18769 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18774 @node Advanced Scoring
18775 @section Advanced Scoring
18777 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18778 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18779 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18780 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18781 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18783 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18787 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18788 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18789 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18793 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18794 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18796 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18797 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18798 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18799 non-@code{nil} value.
18801 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18802 operator, and various match operators.
18809 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18810 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18811 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18816 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18817 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18818 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18823 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18824 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18828 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18829 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18830 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18831 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18832 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18833 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18834 the ancestry you want to go.
18836 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18837 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18838 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18839 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18840 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18843 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18844 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18846 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18847 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18850 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18851 when he's talking about Gnus:
18855 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18856 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18862 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18866 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18873 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18874 really don't want to read what he's written:
18878 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18879 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18883 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18884 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18885 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18892 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18893 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18894 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18895 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18899 The possibilities are endless.
18902 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18903 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18905 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18906 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18907 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18908 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18909 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18910 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18911 @samp{subject}) first.
18913 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18914 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18925 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18926 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18932 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18939 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18940 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18945 @section Score Decays
18946 @cindex score decays
18949 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18950 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18951 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18952 use them in any sensible way.
18954 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18955 @findex gnus-decay-score
18956 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18957 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18958 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18959 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18960 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18961 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18962 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18963 definition of that function:
18966 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18968 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18969 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18972 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18974 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18976 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18979 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18980 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18981 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18982 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18986 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18989 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18992 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18996 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18997 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18998 the new score, which should be an integer.
19000 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19001 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19006 @include message.texi
19007 @chapter Emacs MIME
19008 @include emacs-mime.texi
19010 @include sieve.texi
19018 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19019 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19020 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19021 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19022 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19023 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19024 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19025 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19026 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19027 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19028 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19029 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19030 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19031 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19032 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19033 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19034 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19035 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19036 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19040 @node Process/Prefix
19041 @section Process/Prefix
19042 @cindex process/prefix convention
19044 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19045 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19047 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19048 command to be performed on.
19052 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19053 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19054 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19055 with the current one.
19057 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19058 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19059 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19061 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19062 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19065 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19066 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19068 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19071 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19072 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19073 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19074 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19076 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19077 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19078 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19079 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19080 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19081 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19082 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19083 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19085 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19086 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19087 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19088 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19089 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19093 @section Interactive
19094 @cindex interaction
19098 @item gnus-novice-user
19099 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19100 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19101 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19102 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19103 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19106 @item gnus-expert-user
19107 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19108 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19109 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19110 matter how strange.
19112 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19113 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19114 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19115 is @code{t} by default.
19117 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19118 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19119 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19124 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19125 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19126 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19128 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19129 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19130 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19131 rule of 900 to the current article.
19133 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19134 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19135 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19136 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19137 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19138 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19139 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19141 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19142 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19143 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19144 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19145 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19146 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19147 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19148 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19149 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19151 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19152 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19153 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19155 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19159 @node Formatting Variables
19160 @section Formatting Variables
19161 @cindex formatting variables
19163 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19164 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19165 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19166 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19167 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19170 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19171 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19172 lots of percentages everywhere.
19175 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19176 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19177 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19178 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19179 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19180 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19181 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19182 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19185 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19186 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19187 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19188 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19189 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19190 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19191 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19192 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19194 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19195 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19197 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19198 @findex gnus-update-format
19199 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19200 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19201 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19202 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19206 @node Formatting Basics
19207 @subsection Formatting Basics
19209 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19210 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19211 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19213 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19214 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19215 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19216 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19217 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19220 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19221 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19222 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19223 less than 4 characters wide.
19225 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19226 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19229 @node Mode Line Formatting
19230 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19232 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19233 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19234 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19235 with the following two differences:
19240 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19243 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19244 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19245 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19246 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19247 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19248 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19249 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19254 @node Advanced Formatting
19255 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19257 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19258 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19259 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19260 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19262 These are the valid modifiers:
19267 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19271 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19276 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19279 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19284 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19287 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19290 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19293 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19299 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19304 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19305 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19306 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19307 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19308 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19309 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19310 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19312 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19313 last operation, padding.
19315 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19316 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19317 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19318 @xref{Compilation}.
19321 @node User-Defined Specs
19322 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19324 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19325 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19326 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19327 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19328 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19329 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19330 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19331 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19332 should protect against that.
19334 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19335 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19337 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19338 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19339 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19340 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19344 @node Formatting Fonts
19345 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19347 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19348 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19349 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19350 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19353 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19354 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19355 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19356 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19357 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19358 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19360 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19361 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19362 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19363 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19364 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19365 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19366 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19367 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19369 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19372 ;; Create three face types.
19373 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19374 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19376 ;; We want the article count to be in
19377 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19378 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19379 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19381 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19382 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19384 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19385 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19386 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19389 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19390 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19392 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19393 mode-line variables.
19395 @node Positioning Point
19396 @subsection Positioning Point
19398 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19399 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19400 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19402 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19404 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19405 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19406 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19408 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19409 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19410 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19415 @subsection Tabulation
19417 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19418 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19419 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19420 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19422 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19423 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19425 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19426 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19427 This is the soft tabulator.
19429 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19430 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19431 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19434 @node Wide Characters
19435 @subsection Wide Characters
19437 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19438 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19439 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19441 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19442 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19443 these coutries, that's not true.
19445 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19446 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19447 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19448 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19452 @node Window Layout
19453 @section Window Layout
19454 @cindex window layout
19456 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19458 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19459 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19460 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19461 @code{t} by default.
19463 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19464 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19466 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19467 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19468 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19471 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19472 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19473 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19477 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19478 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19479 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19480 possible names is listed below.
19482 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19483 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19486 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19490 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19491 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19492 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19493 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19494 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19495 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19496 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19497 size spec per split.
19499 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19500 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19501 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19502 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19503 present) gets focus.
19505 Here's a more complicated example:
19508 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19509 (summary 0.25 point)
19510 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19514 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19515 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19516 occupy, not a percentage.
19518 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19519 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19520 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19521 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19522 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19525 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19528 (article (horizontal 1.0
19533 (summary 0.25 point)
19538 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19539 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19541 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19542 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19543 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19544 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19545 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19547 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19548 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19549 lines from the splits.
19551 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19555 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19556 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19557 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19558 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19559 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19560 size = number | frame-params
19561 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19564 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19565 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19566 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19567 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19569 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19570 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19571 @cindex window height
19572 @cindex window width
19573 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19574 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19575 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19576 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19577 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19578 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19580 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19581 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19582 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19583 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19585 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19586 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19587 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19588 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19589 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19590 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19591 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19592 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19593 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19594 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19595 configuration list.
19598 (gnus-configure-frame
19602 (article 0.3 point))
19610 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19611 @code{frame} split:
19614 (gnus-configure-frame
19617 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19619 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19620 (user-position . t)
19621 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19626 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19627 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19628 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19629 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19630 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19631 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19632 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19633 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19635 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19636 be found in its default value.
19638 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19639 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19640 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19644 (message (horizontal 1.0
19645 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19647 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19652 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19653 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19654 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19659 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19660 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19661 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19662 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19663 (name . "Message"))
19664 (message 1.0 point))))
19667 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19668 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19669 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19670 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19671 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19674 (gnus-add-configuration
19675 '(article (vertical 1.0
19677 (summary .25 point)
19681 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19682 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19683 Gnus has been loaded.
19685 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19686 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19687 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19688 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19689 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19691 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19692 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19693 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19696 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19700 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19701 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19716 (gnus-add-configuration
19719 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19721 (summary 0.16 point)
19724 (gnus-add-configuration
19727 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19728 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19734 @node Faces and Fonts
19735 @section Faces and Fonts
19740 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19741 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19742 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19747 @section Compilation
19748 @cindex compilation
19749 @cindex byte-compilation
19751 @findex gnus-compile
19753 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19754 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19755 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19756 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19757 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19758 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19761 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19762 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19763 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19764 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19765 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19766 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19767 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19771 @section Mode Lines
19774 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19775 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19776 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19777 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19778 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19779 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19780 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19783 @cindex display-time
19785 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19786 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19787 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19788 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19789 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19790 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19791 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19792 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19795 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19797 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19798 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19800 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19801 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19802 (length display-time-string)))))
19805 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19806 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19807 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19808 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19809 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19812 @node Highlighting and Menus
19813 @section Highlighting and Menus
19815 @cindex highlighting
19818 @vindex gnus-visual
19819 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19820 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19821 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19824 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19825 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19828 @item group-highlight
19829 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19830 @item summary-highlight
19831 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19832 @item article-highlight
19833 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19835 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19837 Create menus in the group buffer.
19839 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19841 Create menus in the article buffer.
19843 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19845 Create menus in the server buffer.
19847 Create menus in the score buffers.
19849 Create menus in all buffers.
19852 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19853 buffers, you could say something like:
19856 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19859 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19862 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19865 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19866 in all Gnus buffers.
19868 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19871 @item gnus-mouse-face
19872 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19873 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19874 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19878 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19882 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19883 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19884 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19886 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19887 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19888 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19890 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19891 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19892 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19894 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19895 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19896 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19898 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19899 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19900 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19902 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19903 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19904 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19915 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19916 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19917 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19918 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19919 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19923 @vindex gnus-carpal
19924 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19925 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19926 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19931 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19932 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19933 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19935 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19936 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19937 Face used on buttons.
19939 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19940 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19941 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19943 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19944 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19945 Buttons in the group buffer.
19947 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19948 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19949 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19951 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19952 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19953 Buttons in the server buffer.
19955 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19956 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19957 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19960 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19961 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19962 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19970 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19971 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19972 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19973 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19974 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19976 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19977 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19978 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19980 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19981 been idle for thirty minutes:
19984 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19987 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19991 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19994 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19995 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19996 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19998 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19999 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20000 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20001 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20003 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20004 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20005 @var{idle} minutes.
20007 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20008 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20011 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20012 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20013 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20015 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20016 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20017 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20018 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20020 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20021 your @file{.gnus} file:
20023 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20025 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20028 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20029 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20030 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20031 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20032 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20033 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20034 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20035 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20036 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20037 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20038 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20040 @findex gnus-demon-init
20041 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20042 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20043 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20044 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20045 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20047 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20048 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20049 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20058 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20059 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20061 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20062 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20063 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20064 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20067 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20068 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20069 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20070 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20072 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20073 this will make spam disappear.
20075 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20078 @item gnus-use-nocem
20079 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20080 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20083 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20084 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20085 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20086 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20087 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20089 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20090 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20091 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20092 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20093 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20094 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20096 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20097 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20099 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20100 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20101 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20102 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20103 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20104 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20105 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20106 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20107 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20108 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20110 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20111 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20114 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20117 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20118 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20121 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20124 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20127 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20128 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20130 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20131 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20132 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20133 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20135 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20136 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20139 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20141 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20149 This might be dangerous, though.
20151 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20152 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20153 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20154 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20156 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20157 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20158 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20159 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20160 might then see old spam.
20162 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20163 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20164 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20165 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20166 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20169 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20170 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20171 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20172 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20176 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20177 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20178 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20179 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20186 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20187 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20188 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20190 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20191 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20192 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20193 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20194 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20195 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20196 @code{undo} function.
20198 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20199 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20200 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20201 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20202 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20203 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20204 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20205 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20206 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20207 never be totally undoable.
20209 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20210 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20212 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20213 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20214 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20215 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20219 @node Predicate Specifiers
20220 @section Predicate Specifiers
20221 @cindex predicate specifiers
20223 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20224 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20225 to type all that much.
20227 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20232 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20233 gnus-article-unread-p)
20236 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20237 functions all take one parameter.
20239 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20240 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20241 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20242 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20247 @section Moderation
20250 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20251 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20252 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20255 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20259 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20262 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20264 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20269 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20270 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20271 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20274 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20275 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20278 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20279 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20283 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20286 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20287 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20291 @node Image Enhancements
20292 @section Image Enhancements
20294 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20295 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20298 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20299 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20300 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20301 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20302 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20315 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20316 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20317 over your shoulder as you read news.
20320 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20321 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20322 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20323 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20324 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20329 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20331 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20340 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20341 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20342 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20343 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20344 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20345 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20346 @code{GIF} formats.
20349 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20350 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20351 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20352 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20353 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20355 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20356 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20357 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20358 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20359 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20360 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20362 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20363 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20366 @node Picon Requirements
20367 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20369 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20370 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20371 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20372 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20374 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20375 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20376 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20377 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20378 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20379 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20382 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20384 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20385 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20388 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20389 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20392 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20393 containing the Picons databases.
20395 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20398 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20399 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20404 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20412 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20413 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20414 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20415 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20416 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20421 @item gnus-picons-database
20422 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20423 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20424 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20425 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20426 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20427 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20429 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20430 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20431 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20432 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20433 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20434 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20435 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20437 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20438 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20439 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20440 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20441 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20442 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20443 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20444 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20446 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20447 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20448 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20453 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20454 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20456 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20457 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20460 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20462 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20463 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20464 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20465 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20467 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20468 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20469 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20470 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20476 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20477 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20485 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20486 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20487 don't need to worry about.
20491 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20492 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20493 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20494 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20496 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20497 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20498 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20499 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20501 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20502 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20503 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20504 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20505 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20507 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20508 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20509 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20510 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20511 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20512 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20513 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20514 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20516 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20517 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20518 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20519 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20520 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20522 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20523 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20524 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20525 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20526 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20527 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20528 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20530 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20531 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20532 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20533 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20535 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20536 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20537 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20538 Defaults to @code{t}.
20540 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20541 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20542 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20543 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20545 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20546 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20547 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20549 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20550 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20551 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20552 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20554 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20555 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20557 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20558 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20559 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20560 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20561 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20562 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20563 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20564 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20575 @subsection Smileys
20580 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20585 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20586 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20588 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20589 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20592 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20595 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20596 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20597 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20598 text and maps that to file names.
20600 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20601 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20602 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20603 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20604 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20605 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20607 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20608 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20610 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20611 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20612 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20614 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20615 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20619 @item smiley-data-directory
20620 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20621 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20623 @item smiley-flesh-color
20624 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20625 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20627 @item smiley-features-color
20628 @vindex smiley-features-color
20629 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20631 @item smiley-tongue-color
20632 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20633 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20635 @item smiley-circle-color
20636 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20637 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20639 @item smiley-mouse-face
20640 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20641 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20650 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20651 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20652 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20656 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20657 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20658 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20659 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20667 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20668 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20669 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20670 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20672 The variable that controls this is the
20673 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20674 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20675 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20676 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20677 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20679 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20680 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20681 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20682 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20685 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20686 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20687 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20688 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20689 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20690 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20691 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20692 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20694 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20697 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20698 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20700 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20701 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20702 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20703 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20704 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20705 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20707 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20708 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20709 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20711 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20712 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20715 (setq message-required-news-headers
20716 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20717 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20720 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20723 (setq message-required-news-headers
20724 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20725 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20726 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20727 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20732 @subsection Toolbar
20742 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20743 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20744 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20745 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20746 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20748 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20749 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20750 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20752 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20753 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20754 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20756 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20757 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20758 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20764 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20767 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20768 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20769 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20770 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20771 unusual directory structure.
20773 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20774 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20775 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20776 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20778 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20779 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20780 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20781 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20782 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20783 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20785 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20786 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20787 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20801 @node Fuzzy Matching
20802 @section Fuzzy Matching
20803 @cindex fuzzy matching
20805 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20806 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20808 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20809 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20810 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20812 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20813 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20814 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20815 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20816 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20819 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20820 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20824 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20826 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20827 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20828 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20829 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20830 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20831 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20832 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20833 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20836 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20837 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20838 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20839 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20840 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20841 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20846 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20847 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20848 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20851 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20852 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20856 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20858 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20859 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20861 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20862 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20863 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20864 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20865 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20866 part of the mail address.)
20869 (setq message-default-news-headers
20870 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20873 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20874 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20879 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20880 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20881 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20887 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20888 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20889 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20890 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20892 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20893 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20894 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20895 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20896 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20897 your fancy split rule in this way:
20902 (to "larsi" "misc")
20906 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20907 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20908 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20909 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20910 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20912 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20913 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20914 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20915 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20916 cosmic balance somewhat.
20918 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20919 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20920 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20921 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20926 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20927 @cindex SpamAssassin
20928 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20931 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20932 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20933 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20934 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20935 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20936 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20937 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20939 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20940 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20941 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
20942 Specifiers}) follows.
20946 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
20949 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
20952 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
20953 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
20954 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
20957 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
20961 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20964 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
20965 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
20969 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
20970 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
20971 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
20972 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
20975 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
20977 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
20979 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
20980 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
20982 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
20984 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
20985 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
20989 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
20990 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
20991 spam. And here is the nifty function:
20994 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
20995 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
20997 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
20998 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
20999 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21003 @subsection Hashcash
21006 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21007 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21008 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21009 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21010 in smaller communities.
21012 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21013 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21014 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21015 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21016 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21017 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21018 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21019 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21020 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21021 one of them separately.
21024 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21025 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21026 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21027 header. For more details, and for the external application
21028 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21029 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21030 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21032 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21036 (require 'hashcash)
21037 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21040 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21041 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21042 development contrib directory.
21044 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21048 @item hashcash-default-payment
21049 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21050 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21051 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21052 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21054 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21055 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21056 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21057 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21058 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21059 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21060 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21061 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21065 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21069 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21070 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21071 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21072 a useful contribution, however.
21074 @node Various Various
21075 @section Various Various
21081 @item gnus-home-directory
21082 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21083 defaults to @file{~/}.
21085 @item gnus-directory
21086 @vindex gnus-directory
21087 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21088 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21089 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21091 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21092 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21093 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21094 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21096 @item gnus-default-directory
21097 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21098 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21099 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21100 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21101 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21102 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21103 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21106 @vindex gnus-verbose
21107 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21108 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21109 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21110 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21111 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21113 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21114 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21115 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21116 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21118 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21119 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21120 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21121 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21122 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21123 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21124 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21125 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21126 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21127 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21129 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21130 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21131 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21132 read when doing the operation described above.
21134 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21135 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21137 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21138 @cindex characters in file names
21139 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21140 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21141 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21144 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21148 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21149 Windows (phooey) systems.
21151 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21152 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21153 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21154 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21155 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21157 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21158 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21159 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21160 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21161 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21163 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21164 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21165 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21167 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21168 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21170 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21171 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21172 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21173 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21176 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21184 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21185 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21187 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21189 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21195 Not because of victories @*
21198 but for the common sunshine,@*
21200 the largess of the spring.
21204 but for the day's work done@*
21205 as well as I was able;@*
21206 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21207 but at the common table.@*
21212 @chapter Appendices
21215 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21216 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21217 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21218 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21219 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21220 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21221 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21222 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21223 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21230 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21232 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21233 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21234 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21235 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21236 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21243 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21244 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21246 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21247 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21248 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21249 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21250 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21252 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21253 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21254 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21255 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21256 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21257 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21259 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21260 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21261 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21262 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21265 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21266 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21267 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21268 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21269 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21270 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21271 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21272 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21273 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21277 @node Gnus Versions
21278 @subsection Gnus Versions
21280 @cindex September Gnus
21282 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21283 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21287 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21288 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21289 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21291 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21292 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21294 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21295 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21297 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21298 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21300 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21301 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21304 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21306 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21307 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21308 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21309 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21310 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21311 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21314 @node Other Gnus Versions
21315 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21318 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21319 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21320 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21321 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21323 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21324 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21325 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21326 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21333 What's the point of Gnus?
21335 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21336 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21337 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21338 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21339 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21340 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21341 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21342 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21343 keep track of millions of people who post?
21345 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21346 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21347 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21348 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21349 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21350 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21351 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21352 every one of you to explore and invent.
21354 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21355 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21358 @node Compatibility
21359 @subsection Compatibility
21361 @cindex compatibility
21362 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21363 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21364 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21369 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21373 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21376 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21379 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21380 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21381 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21382 important variables have their values copied into their global
21383 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21384 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21386 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21387 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21388 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21389 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21390 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21394 @cindex highlighting
21395 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21396 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21397 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21398 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21399 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21400 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21403 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21404 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21405 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21406 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21408 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21409 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21410 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21411 to stop doing it the old way.
21413 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21415 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21417 @cindex reporting bugs
21419 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21420 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21421 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21423 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21424 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21425 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21426 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21431 @subsection Conformity
21433 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21434 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21442 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21446 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21448 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21449 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21450 We do have some breaches to this one.
21456 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21457 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21458 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21459 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21460 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21465 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21466 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21467 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21468 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21470 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21472 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21474 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21475 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21477 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21480 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21481 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21482 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21483 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21484 decoding (verification and decryption).
21486 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21487 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21488 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21489 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21491 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21492 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21494 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21495 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21496 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21497 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21498 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21499 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21500 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21504 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21505 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21510 @subsection Emacsen
21516 Gnus should work on :
21524 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21528 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21529 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21532 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21533 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21534 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21538 @node Gnus Development
21539 @subsection Gnus Development
21541 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21542 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21543 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21544 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21545 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21546 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21547 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21548 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21550 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21551 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21552 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21553 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21554 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21557 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21558 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21559 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21560 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21561 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21563 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21564 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21565 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21566 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21567 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21568 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21569 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21570 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21571 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21572 can't be assumed to do so.
21577 @subsection Contributors
21578 @cindex contributors
21580 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21581 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21582 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21583 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21584 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21585 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21586 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21587 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21588 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21589 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21591 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21597 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21600 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21601 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21602 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21603 functionality and stuff.
21606 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21607 well as numerous other things).
21610 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21613 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21616 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21619 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21622 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21623 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21626 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21629 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21630 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21633 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21636 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21639 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21642 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21645 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21646 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21649 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21652 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21655 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21658 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21662 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21665 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21668 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21671 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21672 well as autoconf support.
21676 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21677 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21679 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21688 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21692 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21702 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21717 Massimo Campostrini,
21722 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21723 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21727 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21730 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21736 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21741 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21745 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21753 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21755 Michelangelo Grigni,
21759 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21761 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21763 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21770 François Felix Ingrand,
21771 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21772 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21774 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21785 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21786 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21788 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21789 Thor Kristoffersen,
21792 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21810 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21811 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21818 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21823 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21827 John McClary Prevost,
21833 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21838 Christian von Roques,
21841 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21848 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21850 Randal L. Schwartz,
21864 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21869 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21885 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21890 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21891 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21892 (550kB and counting).
21894 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21897 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21898 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21902 @subsection New Features
21903 @cindex new features
21906 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21907 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21908 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21909 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21910 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21913 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21914 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21915 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21918 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21920 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21925 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21926 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21929 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21930 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21933 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21936 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21937 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21938 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21941 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21942 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21943 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21944 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21947 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21948 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21951 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21952 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21953 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21956 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21957 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21960 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21961 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21962 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21965 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21966 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21967 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21970 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21971 the @file{.emacs} file.
21974 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21975 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21978 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21979 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21982 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21983 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21986 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21987 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
21990 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
21991 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21994 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
21997 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
21998 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22001 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22002 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22005 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22006 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22009 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22012 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22013 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22016 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22020 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22024 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22025 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22028 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22034 @node September Gnus
22035 @subsubsection September Gnus
22039 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22043 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22048 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22049 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22053 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22054 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22058 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22062 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22063 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22066 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22070 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22073 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22076 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22079 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22083 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22084 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22087 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22091 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22095 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22099 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22103 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22106 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22107 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22110 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22114 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22115 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22118 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22121 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22122 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22123 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22126 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22130 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22133 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22137 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22138 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22141 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22142 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22145 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22146 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22149 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22150 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22151 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22154 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22155 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22158 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22161 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22164 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22167 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22170 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22171 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22174 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22178 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22181 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22186 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22189 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22193 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22196 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22200 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22203 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22206 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22207 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22210 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22211 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22215 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22216 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22219 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22223 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22224 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22227 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22230 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22234 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22238 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22239 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22242 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22246 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22247 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22250 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22251 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22254 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22258 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22261 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22264 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22270 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22272 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22276 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22283 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22286 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22287 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22290 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22291 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22295 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22296 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22299 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22302 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22303 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22306 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22310 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22311 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22315 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22316 Server Internals}).
22319 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22323 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22326 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22327 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22330 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22331 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22332 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22335 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22336 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22339 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22340 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22343 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22347 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22348 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22351 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22352 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22355 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22359 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22362 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22366 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22367 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22370 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22371 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22374 A new command for reading collections of documents
22375 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22376 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22379 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22383 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22384 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22387 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22388 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22389 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22392 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22393 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22397 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22401 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22405 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22410 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22414 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22418 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22419 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22422 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22428 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22430 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22435 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22436 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22437 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22440 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22441 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22442 group, which is created automatically.
22445 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22449 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22452 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22453 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22456 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22460 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22463 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22464 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22467 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22470 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22471 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22474 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22475 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22478 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22479 control over simplification.
22482 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22485 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22489 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22492 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22495 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22496 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22497 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22500 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22501 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22504 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22508 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22509 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22512 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22513 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22516 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22520 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22523 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22526 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22527 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22530 A new function for citing in Message has been
22531 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22534 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22537 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22541 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22542 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22545 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22546 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22549 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22552 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22556 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22557 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22559 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22564 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22565 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22567 If you used procmail like in
22570 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22571 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22572 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22573 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22576 this now has changed to
22580 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22584 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22585 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22588 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22589 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22592 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22593 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22596 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22597 called to position point.
22600 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22601 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22604 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22605 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22608 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22609 subtly different manner.
22612 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22613 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22614 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22617 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22625 @section The Manual
22629 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22630 either @code{texi2dvi}
22632 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22633 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22635 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22637 The following conventions have been used:
22642 This is a @samp{string}
22645 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22648 This is a @file{file}
22651 This is a @code{symbol}
22655 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22659 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22662 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22665 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22668 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22669 ever get them confused.
22673 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22674 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22675 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22676 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22677 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22678 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22679 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22685 @node On Writing Manuals
22686 @section On Writing Manuals
22688 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22689 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22690 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22691 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22692 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22693 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22696 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22697 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22698 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22701 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22702 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22707 @section Terminology
22709 @cindex terminology
22714 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22715 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22716 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22717 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22718 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22722 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22723 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22724 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22725 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22729 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22733 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22738 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22739 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22740 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22741 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22742 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22743 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22744 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22745 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22746 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22748 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22749 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22750 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22751 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22752 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22755 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22756 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22757 access the articles.
22759 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22760 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22761 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22766 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22767 default, way of getting news.
22771 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22772 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22777 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22778 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22782 A message that has been posted as news.
22785 @cindex mail message
22786 A message that has been mailed.
22790 A mail message or news article
22794 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22799 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22804 A line from the head of an article.
22808 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22809 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22813 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22814 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22815 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22816 normal @sc{head} format.
22820 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22821 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22822 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22823 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22824 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22825 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22827 @item killed groups
22828 @cindex killed groups
22829 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22830 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22832 @item zombie groups
22833 @cindex zombie groups
22834 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22837 @cindex active file
22838 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22839 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22840 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22843 @cindex bogus groups
22844 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22845 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22846 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22849 @cindex activating groups
22850 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22851 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22852 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22856 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22858 @item select method
22859 @cindex select method
22860 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22863 @item virtual server
22864 @cindex virtual server
22865 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22866 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22867 whole is a virtual server.
22871 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22872 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22875 @item ephemeral groups
22876 @cindex ephemeral groups
22877 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22878 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22879 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22882 @cindex solid groups
22883 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22884 group buffer are solid groups.
22886 @item sparse articles
22887 @cindex sparse articles
22888 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22889 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22893 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22894 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22898 @cindex thread root
22899 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22900 articles in the thread.
22904 An article that has responses.
22908 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22912 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22913 specified by RFC 1153.
22919 @node Customization
22920 @section Customization
22921 @cindex general customization
22923 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22924 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22925 for some quite common situations.
22928 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22929 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22930 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22931 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22935 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22936 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22938 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22939 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22940 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22944 @item gnus-read-active-file
22945 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22946 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22947 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22948 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22949 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22951 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22952 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22953 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22954 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22958 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22959 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22961 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22962 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22963 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22967 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22968 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22969 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22970 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22971 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22973 @item gnus-visible-headers
22974 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22975 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22976 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22977 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22979 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22981 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22982 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22983 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22986 @item gnus-use-full-window
22987 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22988 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22989 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
22990 want to read them anyway.
22992 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22993 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
22997 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
22998 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
22999 lines, which might save some time.
23003 @node Little Disk Space
23004 @subsection Little Disk Space
23007 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23008 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23012 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23013 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23014 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23015 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23018 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23019 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23020 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23021 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23024 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23025 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23026 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23027 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23028 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23034 @subsection Slow Machine
23035 @cindex slow machine
23037 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23038 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23040 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23041 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23043 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23044 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23045 summary buffer faster.
23049 @node Troubleshooting
23050 @section Troubleshooting
23051 @cindex troubleshooting
23053 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23061 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23064 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23065 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23069 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23070 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23071 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23072 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23075 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23079 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23080 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23081 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23082 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23083 something like that.
23086 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23089 @cindex reporting bugs
23091 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23093 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23094 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23095 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23096 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23098 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23099 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23100 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23101 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23104 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23105 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23106 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23107 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23108 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23109 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23111 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23112 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23113 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23117 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23118 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23120 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23121 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23123 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23124 @cindex ding mailing list
23125 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23126 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23130 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23131 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23133 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23134 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23135 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23136 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23139 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23140 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23141 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23142 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23143 and general methods of operation.
23146 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23147 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23148 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23149 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23150 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23151 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23152 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23153 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23154 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23158 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23159 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23160 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23161 @cindex utility functions
23163 @cindex internal variables
23165 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23166 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23167 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23171 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23172 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23173 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23175 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23176 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23177 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23179 @item gnus-group-real-name
23180 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23181 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23184 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23185 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23186 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23187 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23189 @item gnus-get-info
23190 @findex gnus-get-info
23191 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23193 @item gnus-group-unread
23194 @findex gnus-group-unread
23195 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23199 @findex gnus-active
23200 The active entry for @var{group}.
23202 @item gnus-set-active
23203 @findex gnus-set-active
23204 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23206 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23207 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23208 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23211 @item gnus-continuum-version
23212 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23213 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23214 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23217 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23218 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23219 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23221 @item gnus-news-group-p
23222 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23223 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23225 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23226 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23227 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23229 @item gnus-server-to-method
23230 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23231 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23233 @item gnus-server-equal
23234 @findex gnus-server-equal
23235 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23237 @item gnus-group-native-p
23238 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23239 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23241 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23242 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23243 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23245 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23246 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23247 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23249 @item group-group-find-parameter
23250 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23251 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23252 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23254 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23255 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23256 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23258 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23259 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23260 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23262 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23263 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23264 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23265 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23268 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23272 @item gnus-read-method
23273 @findex gnus-read-method
23274 Prompts the user for a select method.
23279 @node Back End Interface
23280 @subsection Back End Interface
23282 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23283 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23284 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23285 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23286 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23287 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23289 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23290 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23291 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23292 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23293 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23294 been opened, the function should fail.
23296 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23297 name. Take this example:
23301 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23302 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23305 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23306 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23308 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23309 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23310 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23312 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23313 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23314 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23316 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23317 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23318 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23319 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23320 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23321 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23324 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23325 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23326 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23327 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23330 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23331 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23332 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23333 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23334 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23335 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23336 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23337 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23338 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23339 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23341 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23342 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23343 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23344 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23345 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23346 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23347 of numbers as long as possible.
23349 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23352 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23355 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23356 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23357 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23358 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23359 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23360 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23364 @node Required Back End Functions
23365 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23369 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23371 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23372 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23373 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23374 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23376 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23377 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23378 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23379 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23381 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23382 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23383 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23384 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23385 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23386 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23387 number, do maximum fetches.
23389 Here's an example HEAD:
23392 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23393 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23394 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23395 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23396 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23397 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23398 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23400 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23401 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23402 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23406 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23407 these in the data buffer.
23409 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23413 head = error / valid-head
23414 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23415 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23416 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23417 header = <text> eol
23420 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23421 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23425 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23426 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23427 field = <text except TAB>
23430 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23434 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23436 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23437 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23439 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23440 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23441 server. In fact, it should do so.
23443 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23444 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23447 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23449 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23450 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23453 There should be no data returned.
23456 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23458 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23459 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23460 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23461 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23463 There should be no data returned.
23466 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23468 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23469 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23470 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23471 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23473 There should be no data returned.
23476 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23478 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23480 There should be no data returned.
23483 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23485 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23486 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23487 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23488 it would be nice if that were possible.
23490 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23491 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23492 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23493 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23494 into its article buffer.
23496 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23497 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23498 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23499 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23500 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23501 on successful article retrieval.
23504 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23506 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23507 making @var{group} the current group.
23509 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23512 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23515 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23518 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23519 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23520 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23521 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23522 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23523 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23524 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23525 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23526 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23530 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23531 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23532 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23536 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23538 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23539 a no-op on most back ends.
23541 There should be no data returned.
23544 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23546 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23549 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23552 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23553 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23556 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23557 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23558 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23559 and the highest as 0.
23562 active-file = *active-line
23563 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23565 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23568 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23569 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23570 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23573 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23575 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23576 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23577 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23578 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23579 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23580 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23582 There should be no result data from this function.
23587 @node Optional Back End Functions
23588 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23592 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23594 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23595 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23596 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23598 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23599 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23600 former is in the same format as the data from
23601 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23602 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23605 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23609 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23611 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23612 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23613 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23614 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23615 should return the (altered) group info.
23617 There should be no result data from this function.
23620 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23622 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23623 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23624 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23625 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23626 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23627 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23628 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23629 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23631 There should be no result data from this function.
23634 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23636 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23637 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23638 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23639 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23640 propagate the mark information to the server.
23642 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23645 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23648 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23649 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23650 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23651 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23652 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23653 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23654 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23655 possible, not limit itself to these.
23657 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23658 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23659 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23660 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23662 An example action list:
23665 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23666 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23667 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23670 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23671 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23673 There should be no result data from this function.
23675 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23677 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23678 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23679 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23680 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23681 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23683 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23684 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23685 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23688 There should be no result data from this function.
23691 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23693 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23694 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23695 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23696 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23697 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23698 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23699 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23701 There should be no result data from this function.
23704 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23706 The result data from this function should be a description of
23710 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23712 description = <text>
23715 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23717 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23718 groups available on the server.
23721 description-buffer = *description-line
23725 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23727 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23728 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23729 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23730 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23731 in the active buffer format.
23733 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23734 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23735 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23736 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23737 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23738 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23739 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23742 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23744 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23746 There should be no return data.
23749 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23751 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23752 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23753 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23754 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23755 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23758 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23761 There should be no result data returned.
23764 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23767 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23768 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23770 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23771 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23772 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23773 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23774 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23775 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23777 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23778 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23781 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23782 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23784 There should be no data returned.
23787 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23789 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23790 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23791 this function in short order.
23793 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23794 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23796 There should be no data returned.
23799 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23801 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23802 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23804 There should be no data returned.
23807 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23809 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23810 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23811 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23813 There should be no data returned.
23816 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23818 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23819 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23821 There should be no data returned.
23826 @node Error Messaging
23827 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23829 @findex nnheader-report
23830 @findex nnheader-get-report
23831 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23832 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23833 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23834 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23835 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23836 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23839 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23841 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23844 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23845 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23846 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23847 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23849 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23850 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23851 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23854 @node Writing New Back Ends
23855 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23857 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23858 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23859 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23860 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23861 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23864 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23865 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23866 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23868 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23869 package called @code{nnoo}.
23871 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23872 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23878 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23879 parameters. For instance:
23882 (nnoo-declare nndir
23886 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23887 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23890 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23891 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23892 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23894 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23895 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23896 a function in those back ends.
23899 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23900 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23901 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23904 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23905 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23906 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23908 @item nnoo-define-basics
23909 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23913 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23917 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23918 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23919 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23921 @item nnoo-map-functions
23922 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23923 functions from the parent back ends.
23926 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23927 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23928 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23931 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23932 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23933 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23934 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23937 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23938 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23939 haven't already been defined.
23945 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23949 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23950 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23951 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23956 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23959 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23960 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23964 (require 'nnheader)
23968 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23970 (nnoo-declare nndir
23973 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23974 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23975 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23977 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23978 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23981 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23983 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23984 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23985 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23987 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23988 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
23990 ;;; Interface functions.
23992 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23994 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
23995 (setq nndir-directory
23996 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
23998 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
23999 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24000 (push `(nndir-current-group
24001 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24002 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24004 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24005 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24007 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24009 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24010 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24011 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24012 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24013 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24017 nnmh-status-message
24019 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24025 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24026 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24028 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24029 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24030 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24031 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24032 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24034 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24035 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24040 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24043 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24045 The abilities can be:
24049 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24051 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24053 This back end supports both mail and news.
24055 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24058 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24059 articles and groups.
24061 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24062 true for almost all back ends.
24063 @item prompt-address
24064 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24065 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24066 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24070 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24071 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24073 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24074 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24075 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24076 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24079 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24080 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24081 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24084 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24085 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24088 This function takes four parameters.
24092 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24095 @item exit-function
24096 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24098 @item temp-directory
24099 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24102 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24103 performed for one group only.
24106 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24107 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24108 find the article number assigned to this article.
24110 The function also uses the following variables:
24111 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24112 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24113 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24114 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24118 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24119 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24123 @node Score File Syntax
24124 @subsection Score File Syntax
24126 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24127 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24128 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24130 Here's a typical score file:
24134 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24141 BNF definition of a score file:
24144 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24145 element = rule / atom
24146 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24147 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24148 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24149 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24151 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24152 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24153 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24154 date-header = "date"
24155 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24156 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24157 score = "nil" / <integer>
24158 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24159 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24160 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24161 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24162 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24163 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24164 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24165 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24166 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24167 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24168 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24169 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24170 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24171 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24172 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24173 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24174 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24175 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24176 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24177 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24178 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24179 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24180 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24181 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24182 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24183 eval = "eval" space <form>
24184 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24187 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24190 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24191 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24192 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24193 one looong line, then that's ok.
24195 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24196 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24200 @subsection Headers
24202 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24203 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24204 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24205 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24207 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24208 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24209 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24210 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24211 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24212 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24213 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24215 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24216 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24217 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24218 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24219 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24221 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24222 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24228 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24229 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24231 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24232 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24233 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24234 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24236 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24240 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24243 is transformed into
24246 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24249 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24250 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24253 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24256 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24257 is slightly tricky:
24260 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24266 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24269 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24275 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24282 and is equal to the previous range.
24284 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24285 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24286 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24290 range = simple-range / normal-range
24291 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24292 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24293 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24294 number *[ " " contents ]
24297 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24298 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24299 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24300 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24301 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24306 @subsection Group Info
24308 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24309 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24310 describes the group.
24312 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24313 second is a more complex one:
24316 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24318 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24319 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24321 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24324 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24325 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24326 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24327 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24328 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24329 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24330 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24331 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24332 this section is about.
24334 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24335 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24336 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24338 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24341 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24342 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24343 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24344 group = quote <string> quote
24345 ralevel = rank / level
24346 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24347 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24348 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24350 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24351 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24352 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24353 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24356 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24357 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24360 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24361 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24364 @item gnus-info-group
24365 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24366 @findex gnus-info-group
24367 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24368 Get/set the group name.
24370 @item gnus-info-rank
24371 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24372 @findex gnus-info-rank
24373 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24374 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24376 @item gnus-info-level
24377 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24378 @findex gnus-info-level
24379 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24380 Get/set the group level.
24382 @item gnus-info-score
24383 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24384 @findex gnus-info-score
24385 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24386 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24388 @item gnus-info-read
24389 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24390 @findex gnus-info-read
24391 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24392 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24394 @item gnus-info-marks
24395 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24396 @findex gnus-info-marks
24397 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24398 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24400 @item gnus-info-method
24401 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24402 @findex gnus-info-method
24403 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24404 Get/set the group select method.
24406 @item gnus-info-params
24407 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24408 @findex gnus-info-params
24409 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24410 Get/set the group parameters.
24413 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24414 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24416 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24417 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24418 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24419 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24422 @node Extended Interactive
24423 @subsection Extended Interactive
24424 @cindex interactive
24425 @findex gnus-interactive
24427 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24428 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24429 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24432 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24433 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24438 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24439 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24440 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24441 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24442 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24443 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24444 @code{interactive}.
24446 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24451 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24452 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24456 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24457 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24458 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24461 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24465 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24469 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24475 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24476 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24480 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24481 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24482 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24484 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24485 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24486 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24487 Gnus, that's very useful.
24489 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24490 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24491 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24492 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24493 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24494 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24495 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24496 following function:
24499 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24503 (,function ,@@args))
24507 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24508 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24509 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24512 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24513 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24514 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24516 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24517 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24518 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24521 @node Various File Formats
24522 @subsection Various File Formats
24525 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24526 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24530 @node Active File Format
24531 @subsubsection Active File Format
24533 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24534 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24537 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24540 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24541 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24542 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24543 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24544 no.general 1000 900 y
24547 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24550 active = *group-line
24551 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24552 group = <non-white-space string>
24554 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24555 low-number = <positive integer>
24556 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24559 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24560 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24563 @node Newsgroups File Format
24564 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24566 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24567 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24568 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24571 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24572 Here's the definition:
24576 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24577 group = <non-white-space string>
24579 description = <string>
24584 @node Emacs for Heathens
24585 @section Emacs for Heathens
24587 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24588 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24589 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24590 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24591 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24592 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24593 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24597 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24598 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24603 @subsection Keystrokes
24607 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24610 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24613 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24614 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24615 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24616 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24617 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24618 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24620 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24621 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24622 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24623 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24624 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24625 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24626 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24628 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24629 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24630 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24631 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24632 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24633 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24634 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24636 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24637 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24638 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24639 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24640 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24646 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24648 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24649 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24650 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24651 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24653 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24654 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24655 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24656 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24657 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24658 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24659 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24662 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24663 write the following:
24666 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24669 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24670 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24671 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24674 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24675 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24676 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24677 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24678 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24680 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24681 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24682 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24686 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24690 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24693 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24694 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24697 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24700 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24701 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24704 @include gnus-faq.texi
24724 @c Local Variables:
24726 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24728 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24729 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24730 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24731 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24732 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref