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4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.60 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Red Gnus 0.60 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
335 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
336 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
338 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
339 being accused of plagiarism:
341 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
342 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
343 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
344 even read news with it!
346 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
347 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
348 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
349 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
350 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
357 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
358 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
359 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
360 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
361 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
362 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
363 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
364 * Various:: General purpose settings.
365 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
366 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
367 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
368 * Key Index:: Key Index.
372 @chapter Starting Gnus
377 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
378 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
381 @findex gnus-other-frame
382 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
383 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
384 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
386 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
390 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
391 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
392 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
393 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
394 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
395 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
396 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
397 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
398 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
399 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
400 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
404 @node Finding the News
405 @section Finding the News
408 @vindex gnus-select-method
410 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
411 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
412 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
413 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
416 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
417 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
420 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
423 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
426 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
429 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
430 certainly be much faster.
432 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
434 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
435 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
436 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
437 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
438 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
439 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
440 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
442 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
443 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
444 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
445 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
447 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
448 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
449 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
450 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
451 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
452 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
454 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
456 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
457 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
458 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
459 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
460 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
461 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
463 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
465 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
466 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
467 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
468 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
469 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
470 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
473 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
474 would typically set this variable to
477 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
482 @section The First Time
483 @cindex first time usage
485 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
486 be subscribed by default.
488 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
489 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
490 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
491 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
494 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
495 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
496 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
498 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
499 help you with most common problems.
501 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
502 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
506 @node The Server is Down
507 @section The Server is Down
508 @cindex server errors
510 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
511 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
512 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
514 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
515 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
516 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
517 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
518 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
519 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
520 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
522 @findex gnus-no-server
523 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
525 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
526 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
527 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
528 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
529 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
530 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
535 @section Slave Gnusae
538 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
539 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
540 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
541 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
543 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
546 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
547 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
548 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
549 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
550 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
551 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
552 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
554 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
555 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
556 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
557 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
558 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
559 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
560 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
561 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
563 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
564 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
567 @node Fetching a Group
568 @section Fetching a Group
569 @cindex fetching a group
571 @findex gnus-fetch-group
572 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
573 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
574 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
575 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
576 It takes the group name as a parameter.
584 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
585 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
586 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
587 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
588 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
589 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
590 is @code{t} by default.
593 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
594 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
595 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
599 @node Checking New Groups
600 @subsection Checking New Groups
602 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
603 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
604 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
605 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
606 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
607 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
608 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
609 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
610 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
611 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
613 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
614 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
615 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
616 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
617 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
618 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
619 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
620 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
621 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
622 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
623 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
625 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
626 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
627 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
628 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
629 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
630 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
633 @node Subscription Methods
634 @subsection Subscription Methods
636 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
637 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
638 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
640 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
645 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
646 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
647 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
648 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
649 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
651 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
652 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
653 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
655 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
656 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
657 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
659 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
660 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
661 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
662 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
663 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
664 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
665 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
666 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
667 up. Or something like that.
669 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
670 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
671 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
672 you about @strong{all} new groups.
674 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
675 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
681 A closely related variable is
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
683 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
684 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
685 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
688 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
689 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
690 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
693 @node Filtering New Groups
694 @subsection Filtering New Groups
696 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
697 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
698 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
701 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
704 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
705 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
706 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
707 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
708 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
709 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
710 subscribing these groups.
711 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
712 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
714 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
715 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
716 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
717 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
718 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
719 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
720 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
721 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
723 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
724 Yet another variable that meddles here is
725 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
726 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
727 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
728 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
729 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
730 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
731 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
732 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
735 @node Changing Servers
736 @section Changing Servers
737 @cindex changing servers
739 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
740 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
741 very flaky and you want to use another.
743 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
744 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
748 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
749 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
750 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
751 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
754 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
755 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
756 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
757 functions more than absolutely necessary.
759 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
760 @findex gnus-change-server
761 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
762 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
763 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
764 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
765 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
767 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
768 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
769 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
770 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
771 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
773 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
774 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
775 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
776 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
777 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
778 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
782 @section Startup Files
783 @cindex startup files
788 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
789 information is traditionally stored in this file.
791 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
792 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
793 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
794 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
795 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
796 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
797 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
799 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
800 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
801 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
802 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
804 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
805 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
806 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
807 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
808 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
809 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
811 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
812 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
813 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
814 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
815 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
816 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
817 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
818 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
819 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
820 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
821 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
822 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
824 @vindex gnus-startup-file
825 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
826 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
827 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
829 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
830 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
831 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
832 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
833 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
834 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
835 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
836 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
837 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
838 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
841 (defun turn-off-backup ()
842 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
844 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
845 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
848 @vindex gnus-init-file
849 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
850 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
851 (@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
852 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
853 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
861 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
862 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
863 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
864 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
865 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
868 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
869 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
872 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
873 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
874 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
876 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
877 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
878 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
879 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
880 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
881 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
884 @node The Active File
885 @section The Active File
887 @cindex ignored groups
889 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
890 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
891 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
893 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
894 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
895 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
896 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
897 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
898 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
899 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
902 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
903 @c if you set it to anything else.
905 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
907 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
908 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
909 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
911 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
912 you actually subscribe to.
914 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
915 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
916 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
917 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
919 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
920 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
921 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
922 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
923 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
924 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
926 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
927 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
928 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
929 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
930 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
931 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
933 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
934 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
937 @node Startup Variables
938 @section Startup Variables
943 @vindex gnus-load-hook
944 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
945 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
946 times you start Gnus.
948 @item gnus-startup-hook
949 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
950 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
952 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
953 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
954 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
955 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
956 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
957 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
958 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
959 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
961 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
962 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
963 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
964 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
965 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
966 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
968 @item gnus-no-groups-message
969 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
970 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
972 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
973 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
974 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
976 @item gnus-startup-jingle
977 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
978 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
979 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
984 @node The Group Buffer
985 @chapter The Group Buffer
988 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
989 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
990 long as Gnus is active.
993 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
994 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
995 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
996 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
997 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
998 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
999 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1000 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1001 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1002 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1003 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1004 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1005 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1006 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1007 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1008 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1009 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1013 @node Group Buffer Format
1014 @section Group Buffer Format
1017 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1018 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1019 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1023 @node Group Line Specification
1024 @subsection Group Line Specification
1025 @cindex group buffer format
1027 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1028 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1030 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1033 25: news.announce.newusers
1034 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1039 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1040 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1041 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1042 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1044 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1045 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1046 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1047 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1048 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1049 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1051 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1053 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1054 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1055 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1056 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1059 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1060 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1061 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1063 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1068 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1071 Whether the group is subscribed.
1074 Level of subscribedness.
1077 Number of unread articles.
1080 Number of dormant articles.
1083 Number of ticked articles.
1086 Number of read articles.
1089 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1090 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1093 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1096 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1105 Newsgroup description.
1108 @samp{m} if moderated.
1111 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1120 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1124 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1127 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1128 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1129 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1130 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1131 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1134 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1136 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1140 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1144 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1145 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1146 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1147 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1148 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1149 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1154 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1155 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1156 group, or a bogus native group.
1159 @node Group Modeline Specification
1160 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1161 @cindex group modeline
1163 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1164 The mode line can be changed by setting
1165 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1166 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1170 The native news server.
1172 The native select method.
1176 @node Group Highlighting
1177 @subsection Group Highlighting
1178 @cindex highlighting
1179 @cindex group highlighting
1181 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1182 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1183 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1184 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1185 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1187 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1191 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1193 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1194 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1195 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1197 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1199 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1201 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1204 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1211 The number of unread articles in the group.
1215 Whether the group is a mail group.
1217 The level of the group.
1219 The score of the group.
1221 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1223 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1226 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1227 topic being inserted.
1230 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1231 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1232 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1234 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1235 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1236 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1237 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1238 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1241 @node Group Maneuvering
1242 @section Group Maneuvering
1243 @cindex group movement
1245 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1246 expected, hopefully.
1252 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1253 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1254 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1260 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1261 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1262 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1266 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1267 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1271 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1272 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1276 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1277 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1278 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1282 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1283 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1284 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1287 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1293 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1294 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1295 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1300 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1301 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1302 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1306 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1307 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1308 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1311 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1312 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1313 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1314 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1318 @node Selecting a Group
1319 @section Selecting a Group
1320 @cindex group selection
1325 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1326 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1327 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1328 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1329 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1330 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1331 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1332 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1333 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1334 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1338 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1339 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1340 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1341 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1342 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1346 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1347 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1348 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1349 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1350 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1351 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1352 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1353 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1354 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1358 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1359 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1360 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1361 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1362 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1366 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1367 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1368 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1369 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1370 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1371 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1372 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1373 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1376 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1377 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1378 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1379 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1384 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1385 full summary buffer.
1388 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1391 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1395 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1396 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1397 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1401 @node Subscription Commands
1402 @section Subscription Commands
1403 @cindex subscription
1411 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1412 Toggle subscription to the current group
1413 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1419 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1420 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1421 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1422 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1428 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1429 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1435 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1436 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1439 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1441 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1442 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1443 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1449 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1450 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1454 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1455 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1458 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1460 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1461 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1462 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1463 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1464 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1465 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1466 @file{.newsrc} file.
1470 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1480 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1481 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1482 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1483 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1484 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1489 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1490 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1491 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1495 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1496 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1497 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1499 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1500 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1501 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1502 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1503 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1504 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1511 @section Group Levels
1515 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1516 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1517 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1518 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1519 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1521 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1527 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1528 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1529 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1530 prompted for a level.
1533 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1534 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1535 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1536 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1537 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1538 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1539 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1540 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1541 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1542 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1543 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1544 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1545 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1546 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1547 for reasons of efficiency.
1549 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1550 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1552 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1553 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1554 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1556 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1557 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1558 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1559 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1560 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1561 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1562 relevant legal ranges.
1564 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1565 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1566 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1567 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1568 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1569 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1572 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1573 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1574 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1577 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1578 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1579 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1580 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1583 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1584 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1585 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1586 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1588 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1589 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1590 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1591 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1592 5. The default is 6.
1596 @section Group Score
1599 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1600 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1601 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1604 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1605 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1606 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1607 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1608 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1609 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1610 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1612 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1613 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1614 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1615 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1616 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1617 action after each summary exit, you can add
1618 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1619 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1620 slow things down somewhat.
1623 @node Marking Groups
1624 @section Marking Groups
1625 @cindex marking groups
1627 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1628 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1629 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1630 bidding on those groups.
1632 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1633 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1634 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1642 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1643 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1649 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1650 Remove the mark from the current group
1651 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1655 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1656 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1660 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1661 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1665 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1666 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1670 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1671 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1672 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1675 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1677 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1678 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1679 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1680 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1681 the command to be executed.
1684 @node Foreign Groups
1685 @section Foreign Groups
1686 @cindex foreign groups
1688 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1689 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1690 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1691 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1698 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1699 @cindex making groups
1700 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1701 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1702 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1706 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1707 @cindex renaming groups
1708 Rename the current group to something else
1709 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1710 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1716 @findex gnus-group-customize
1717 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1721 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1722 @cindex renaming groups
1723 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1724 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1728 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1729 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1730 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1734 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1735 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1736 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1740 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1742 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1743 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1748 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1749 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1753 @cindex (ding) archive
1754 @cindex archive group
1755 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1756 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1757 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1758 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1759 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1760 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1761 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1765 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1767 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1768 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1769 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1770 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1774 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1776 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1777 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1778 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1782 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1783 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1785 Make a group based on some file or other
1786 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1787 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1788 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1789 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1790 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1791 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1795 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1800 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1801 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1802 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1803 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1804 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1805 @xref{Web Searches}.
1808 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1809 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1810 This function will delete the current group
1811 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1812 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1813 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1814 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1818 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1819 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1820 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1824 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1825 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1826 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1829 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1832 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1833 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1834 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1835 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1836 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1839 @node Group Parameters
1840 @section Group Parameters
1841 @cindex group parameters
1843 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1848 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1849 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1850 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1851 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1852 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1853 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1854 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1855 copies of your followups.
1857 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1858 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1859 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1860 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1861 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1862 list address instead.
1866 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1867 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1868 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1869 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1870 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1872 @item broken-reply-to
1873 @cindex broken-reply-to
1874 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1875 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1876 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1877 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1878 broken behavior. So there!
1882 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1883 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1887 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1888 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1889 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1893 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1894 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1895 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1896 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1897 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1898 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1902 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1903 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1904 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1907 @cindex total-expire
1908 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1909 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1914 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1915 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1916 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1917 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1918 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1919 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1922 @cindex score file group parameter
1923 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1924 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1925 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1928 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1929 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1930 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1931 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1934 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1935 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1936 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1937 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1940 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1941 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1945 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1948 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1953 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
1954 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
1955 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
1958 @item @var{(variable form)}
1959 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1960 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1961 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1962 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1963 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1964 @code{eval}ed there.
1966 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1967 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1968 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1969 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1970 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1974 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1976 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1979 @node Listing Groups
1980 @section Listing Groups
1981 @cindex group listing
1983 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1991 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1992 List all groups that have unread articles
1993 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1994 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1995 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
1996 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2003 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2004 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2005 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2006 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2007 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2008 unsubscribed groups).
2012 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2013 List all unread groups on a specific level
2014 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2015 with no unread articles.
2019 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2020 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2021 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2022 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2027 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2028 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2032 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2033 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2034 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2038 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2039 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2043 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2044 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2045 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2046 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2047 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2048 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2049 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2050 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2054 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2055 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2056 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2060 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2061 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2062 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2066 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2067 @cindex visible group parameter
2068 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2069 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2070 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2071 get the same effect.
2073 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2074 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2075 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2076 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2077 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2080 @node Sorting Groups
2081 @section Sorting Groups
2082 @cindex sorting groups
2084 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2085 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2086 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2087 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2088 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2089 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2094 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2095 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2096 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2098 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2099 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2100 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2102 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2103 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2104 Sort by group level.
2106 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2107 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2108 Sort by group score.
2110 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2111 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2112 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2113 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2115 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2116 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2117 Sort by number of unread articles.
2119 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2120 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2121 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2126 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2127 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2131 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2132 some sorting criteria:
2136 @kindex G S a (Group)
2137 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2138 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2139 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2142 @kindex G S u (Group)
2143 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2144 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2145 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2148 @kindex G S l (Group)
2149 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2150 Sort the group buffer by group level
2151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2154 @kindex G S v (Group)
2155 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2156 Sort the group buffer by group score
2157 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2160 @kindex G S r (Group)
2161 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2162 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2163 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2166 @kindex G S m (Group)
2167 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2168 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2169 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2173 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2175 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2179 @kindex G P a (Group)
2180 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2181 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2182 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2185 @kindex G P u (Group)
2186 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2187 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2188 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2191 @kindex G P l (Group)
2192 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2193 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2194 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2197 @kindex G P v (Group)
2198 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2199 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2200 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2203 @kindex G P r (Group)
2204 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2205 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2206 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2209 @kindex G P m (Group)
2210 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2211 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2212 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2218 @node Group Maintenance
2219 @section Group Maintenance
2220 @cindex bogus groups
2225 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2226 Find bogus groups and delete them
2227 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2231 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2232 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2233 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2237 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2238 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2239 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2240 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2243 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2244 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2245 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2246 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2251 @node Browse Foreign Server
2252 @section Browse Foreign Server
2253 @cindex foreign servers
2254 @cindex browsing servers
2259 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2260 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2261 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2262 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2265 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2266 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2267 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2268 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2270 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2275 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2276 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2280 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2281 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2284 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2285 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2286 Enter the current group and display the first article
2287 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2290 @kindex RET (Browse)
2291 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2292 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2296 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2297 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2298 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2304 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2305 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2309 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2310 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2311 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2316 @section Exiting Gnus
2317 @cindex exiting Gnus
2319 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2324 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2325 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2326 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2327 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2331 @findex gnus-group-exit
2332 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2336 @findex gnus-group-quit
2337 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2338 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2341 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2342 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2343 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2344 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2345 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2350 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2351 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2352 trying to customize meta-variables.
2357 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2358 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2359 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2365 @section Group Topics
2368 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2369 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2370 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2371 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2372 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2373 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2381 2: alt.religion.emacs
2384 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2386 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2387 13: comp.sources.unix
2390 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2392 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2393 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2394 is a toggling command.)
2396 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2397 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2398 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2399 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2402 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2403 the hook for the group mode:
2406 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2410 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2411 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2412 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2413 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2414 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2418 @node Topic Variables
2419 @subsection Topic Variables
2420 @cindex topic variables
2422 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2423 really neat, I think.
2425 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2426 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2427 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2440 Number of groups in the topic.
2442 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2444 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2447 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2448 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2449 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2452 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2453 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2455 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2456 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2457 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2460 @node Topic Commands
2461 @subsection Topic Commands
2462 @cindex topic commands
2464 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2465 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2466 definitions slightly.
2472 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2473 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2474 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2478 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2479 Move the current group to some other topic
2480 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2481 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2485 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2486 Copy the current group to some other topic
2487 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2488 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2492 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2493 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2494 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2495 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2499 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2500 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2501 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2505 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2506 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2507 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2511 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2512 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2513 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2516 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2517 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2518 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2519 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2523 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2525 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2526 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2527 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2528 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2529 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2530 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2533 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2534 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2535 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2536 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2537 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2541 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2542 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2543 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2547 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2548 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2549 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2554 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2555 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2558 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2559 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2560 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2564 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2565 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2566 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2570 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2571 @cindex group parameters
2572 @cindex topic parameters
2574 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2575 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2581 @subsection Topic Sorting
2582 @cindex topic sorting
2584 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2590 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2591 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2592 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2593 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2596 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2597 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2598 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2599 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2602 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2603 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2604 Sort the current topic by group level
2605 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2608 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2609 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2610 Sort the current topic by group score
2611 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2614 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2615 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2616 Sort the current topic by group rank
2617 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2620 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2621 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2622 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2623 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2627 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2630 @node Topic Topology
2631 @subsection Topic Topology
2632 @cindex topic topology
2635 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2641 2: alt.religion.emacs
2644 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2646 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2647 13: comp.sources.unix
2650 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2651 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2652 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2657 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2658 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2662 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2663 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2664 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2665 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2666 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2667 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2669 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2670 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2671 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2674 @node Topic Parameters
2675 @subsection Topic Parameters
2676 @cindex topic parameters
2678 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2679 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2680 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2682 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2683 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2684 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2685 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2691 2: alt.religion.emacs
2695 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2697 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2698 13: comp.sources.unix
2702 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2703 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2704 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2705 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2706 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2707 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2709 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2710 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2711 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2712 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2713 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2715 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2716 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2717 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2718 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2719 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2720 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2721 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2722 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2725 @node Misc Group Stuff
2726 @section Misc Group Stuff
2729 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2730 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2731 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2732 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2739 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2740 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2741 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2745 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2746 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2747 group name will be used as the default.
2751 @findex gnus-group-mail
2752 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2756 Variables for the group buffer:
2760 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2761 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2762 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2765 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2766 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2767 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2768 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2771 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2772 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2773 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2774 whether they are empty or not.
2779 @node Scanning New Messages
2780 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2781 @cindex new messages
2782 @cindex scanning new news
2788 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2789 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2790 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2791 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2792 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2797 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2798 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2799 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2800 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2801 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2802 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2804 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2805 @cindex activating groups
2807 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2808 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2813 @findex gnus-group-restart
2814 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2818 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2819 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2821 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2822 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2826 @node Group Information
2827 @subsection Group Information
2828 @cindex group information
2829 @cindex information on groups
2837 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2838 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2841 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2842 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2843 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2844 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2845 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2846 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2847 for fetching the file.
2849 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2850 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2855 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2856 @cindex describing groups
2857 @cindex group description
2858 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2859 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2860 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2864 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2865 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2866 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2871 @findex gnus-version
2872 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2876 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2877 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2880 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2883 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2884 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2888 @node Group Timestamp
2889 @subsection Group Timestamp
2891 @cindex group timestamps
2893 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2894 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2895 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2898 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2901 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2903 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2904 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2907 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2908 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2911 This will result in lines looking like:
2914 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2915 0: custom 19961002T012713
2918 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2919 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2923 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2924 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2929 @subsection File Commands
2930 @cindex file commands
2936 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2937 @vindex gnus-init-file
2938 @cindex reading init file
2939 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2940 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2944 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2945 @cindex saving .newsrc
2946 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2947 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2948 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2951 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2952 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2953 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2958 @node The Summary Buffer
2959 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2960 @cindex summary buffer
2962 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2963 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2965 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2966 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2968 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
2971 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2972 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2973 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2974 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2975 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2976 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2977 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2978 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2979 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2980 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2981 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2982 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2983 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2984 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2985 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2986 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2987 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2988 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2989 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2990 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2991 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2992 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2993 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2994 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2995 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2996 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3000 @node Summary Buffer Format
3001 @section Summary Buffer Format
3002 @cindex summary buffer format
3005 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3006 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3007 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3010 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3011 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3012 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3013 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3014 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3015 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3016 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3017 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3018 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3019 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3020 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3022 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3023 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3024 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3025 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3028 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3029 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3031 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3032 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3033 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3034 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3035 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3037 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3039 The following format specification characters are understood:
3047 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3048 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3049 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3051 Full @code{From} header.
3053 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3055 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3056 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3057 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3058 may be more thorough.
3060 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3063 Number of lines in the article.
3065 Number of characters in the article.
3067 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3069 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3070 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3072 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3073 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3075 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3076 for adopted articles.
3078 One space for each thread level.
3080 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3088 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3089 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3090 default level. If the difference between
3091 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3092 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3100 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
3102 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3108 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3109 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3111 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3112 article has any children.
3116 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3117 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3118 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3119 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3120 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3121 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3124 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3125 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3126 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3127 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3128 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3129 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3131 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3132 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3134 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3137 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3138 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3140 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3141 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3142 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3143 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3145 Here are the elements you can play with:
3151 Unprefixed group name.
3153 Current article number.
3157 Number of unread articles in this group.
3159 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3161 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3162 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3163 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3164 and no unselected ones.
3166 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3167 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3169 Subject of the current article.
3173 Name of the current score file.
3175 Number of dormant articles.
3177 Number of ticked articles.
3179 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3181 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3185 @node Summary Highlighting
3186 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3190 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3191 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3192 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3193 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3194 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3196 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3197 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3198 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3199 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3201 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3202 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3203 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3204 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3206 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3207 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3208 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3209 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3210 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3211 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3213 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3214 ((> score default) . bold))
3216 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3217 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3221 @node Summary Maneuvering
3222 @section Summary Maneuvering
3223 @cindex summary movement
3225 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3226 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3228 None of these commands select articles.
3233 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3234 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3235 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3236 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3237 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3241 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3242 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3243 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3244 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3245 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3250 @kindex G j (Summary)
3251 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3252 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3253 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3256 @kindex G g (Summary)
3257 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3258 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3259 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3262 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3263 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3264 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3265 to the group buffer.
3267 Variables related to summary movement:
3271 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3272 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3273 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3274 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3275 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3276 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3277 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3278 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3279 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3280 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3281 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3282 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3283 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3284 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3286 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3287 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3288 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3289 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3290 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3291 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3292 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3294 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3295 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3296 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3297 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3298 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3300 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3301 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3302 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3303 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3304 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3305 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3306 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3307 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3313 @node Choosing Articles
3314 @section Choosing Articles
3315 @cindex selecting articles
3318 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3319 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3323 @node Choosing Commands
3324 @subsection Choosing Commands
3326 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3327 and they all select and display an article.
3331 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3332 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3333 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3334 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3339 @kindex G n (Summary)
3340 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3341 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3346 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3347 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3352 @kindex G N (Summary)
3353 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3354 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3359 @kindex G P (Summary)
3360 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3361 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3364 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3365 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3366 Go to the next article with the same subject
3367 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3370 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3371 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3372 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3373 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3377 @kindex G f (Summary)
3379 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3380 Go to the first unread article
3381 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3385 @kindex G b (Summary)
3387 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3388 Go to the article with the highest score
3389 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3394 @kindex G l (Summary)
3395 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3396 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3399 @kindex G p (Summary)
3400 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3401 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3402 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3403 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3404 history as you like.
3408 @node Choosing Variables
3409 @subsection Choosing Variables
3411 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3414 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3415 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3416 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3417 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3418 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3419 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3421 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3422 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3423 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3424 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3426 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3427 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3428 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3429 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3430 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3431 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3432 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3433 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3434 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3435 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3436 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3437 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3438 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3439 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3444 @node Paging the Article
3445 @section Scrolling the Article
3446 @cindex article scrolling
3451 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3452 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3453 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3454 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3455 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3458 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3459 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3460 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3463 @kindex RET (Summary)
3464 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3465 Scroll the current article one line forward
3466 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3470 @kindex A g (Summary)
3472 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3473 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3474 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3475 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3476 the way it came from the server.
3481 @kindex A < (Summary)
3482 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3483 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3484 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3489 @kindex A > (Summary)
3490 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3491 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3495 @kindex A s (Summary)
3497 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3498 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3499 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3504 @node Reply Followup and Post
3505 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3508 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3509 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3513 @node Summary Mail Commands
3514 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3516 @cindex composing mail
3518 Commands for composing a mail message:
3524 @kindex S r (Summary)
3526 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3527 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3528 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3533 @kindex S R (Summary)
3534 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3535 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3536 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3537 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3540 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3541 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3542 Forward the current article to some other person
3543 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3544 headers of the forwarded article.
3549 @kindex S m (Summary)
3550 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3551 Send a mail to some other person
3552 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3555 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3556 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3557 @cindex bouncing mail
3558 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3559 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3560 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3561 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3562 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3563 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3564 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3565 very well fail, though.
3568 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3569 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3570 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3571 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3572 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3573 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3574 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3575 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3576 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3577 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3579 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3580 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3581 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3582 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3583 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3586 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3587 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3588 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3589 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3590 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3593 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3594 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3595 @cindex crossposting
3596 @cindex excessive crossposting
3597 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3598 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3600 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3601 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3602 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3603 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3604 command understands the process/prefix convention
3605 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3610 @node Summary Post Commands
3611 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3613 @cindex composing news
3615 Commands for posting a news article:
3621 @kindex S p (Summary)
3622 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3623 Post an article to the current group
3624 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3629 @kindex S f (Summary)
3630 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3631 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3635 @kindex S F (Summary)
3637 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3638 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3639 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3640 process/prefix convention.
3643 @kindex S n (Summary)
3644 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3645 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3646 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3649 @kindex S n (Summary)
3650 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3651 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3652 message through mail and include the original message
3653 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3654 the process/prefix convention.
3657 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3658 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3659 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3660 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3661 headers of the forwarded article.
3664 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3665 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3666 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3667 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3670 @kindex S u (Summary)
3671 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3672 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3673 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3677 @node Canceling and Superseding
3678 @section Canceling Articles
3679 @cindex canceling articles
3680 @cindex superseding articles
3682 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3683 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3685 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3687 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3689 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3690 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3691 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3692 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3694 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3695 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3698 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3699 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3700 your original article.
3702 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3704 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3705 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3706 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3709 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3710 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3711 have posted almost the same article twice.
3713 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3714 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3715 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3716 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3717 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3718 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3719 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3720 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3721 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3722 canceled/superseded.
3724 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3727 @node Marking Articles
3728 @section Marking Articles
3729 @cindex article marking
3730 @cindex article ticking
3733 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3735 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3736 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3737 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3739 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3742 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3743 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3744 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3748 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3752 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3753 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3757 @node Unread Articles
3758 @subsection Unread Articles
3760 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3765 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3766 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3768 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3769 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3770 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3771 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3772 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3776 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3777 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3779 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3780 are followups to it.
3783 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3784 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3786 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3791 @subsection Read Articles
3792 @cindex expirable mark
3794 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3799 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3800 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3801 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3804 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3805 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3808 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3809 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3810 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3813 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3814 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3817 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3818 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3821 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3822 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3825 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3826 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3829 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3830 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3833 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3834 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3837 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3838 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3842 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3843 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3844 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3848 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3849 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3851 One more special mark, though:
3855 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3856 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3858 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3859 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3860 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3861 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3867 @subsection Other Marks
3868 @cindex process mark
3871 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3877 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3878 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3879 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3880 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3881 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3884 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3885 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3886 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3887 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3890 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3891 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3892 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3895 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3896 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3897 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3898 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3901 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3902 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3903 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3904 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3905 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3908 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3909 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3910 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3911 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3912 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3913 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3917 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3918 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3919 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3921 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3922 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3923 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3927 @subsection Setting Marks
3928 @cindex setting marks
3930 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3936 @kindex M t (Summary)
3937 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3938 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3943 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3944 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3945 Mark the current article as dormant
3946 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3950 @kindex M d (Summary)
3952 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3953 Mark the current article as read
3954 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3958 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3959 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3960 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3965 @kindex M k (Summary)
3966 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3967 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3968 and then select the next unread article
3969 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3973 @kindex M K (Summary)
3974 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3975 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3976 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3977 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3980 @kindex M C (Summary)
3981 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3982 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3985 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3986 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3987 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3988 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3991 @kindex M H (Summary)
3992 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3993 Catchup the current group to point
3994 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3997 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3998 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3999 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4000 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4003 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4004 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4005 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4006 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4010 @kindex M c (Summary)
4011 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4012 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4013 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4014 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
4018 @kindex M e (Summary)
4020 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4021 Mark the current article as expirable
4022 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4025 @kindex M b (Summary)
4026 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4027 Set a bookmark in the current article
4028 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4031 @kindex M B (Summary)
4032 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4033 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4034 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4037 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4038 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4039 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4040 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4043 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4044 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4045 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4046 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4049 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4050 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4051 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4052 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4053 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4056 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4057 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4058 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4059 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4060 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4061 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4062 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4063 The default is @code{t}.
4066 @node Setting Process Marks
4067 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4068 @cindex setting process marks
4075 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4076 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4077 Mark the current article with the process mark
4078 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4079 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4083 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4084 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4085 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4086 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4089 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4090 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4091 Remove the process mark from all articles
4092 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4095 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4096 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4097 Invert the list of process marked articles
4098 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4101 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4102 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4103 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4106 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4107 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4108 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4111 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4112 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4113 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4114 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4117 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4118 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4119 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4120 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4123 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4124 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4125 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4126 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4129 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4130 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4131 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4134 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4135 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4136 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4137 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4140 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4141 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4142 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4145 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4146 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4147 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4148 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4151 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4152 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4153 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4154 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4157 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4158 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4159 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4160 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4163 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4164 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4165 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4166 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4175 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4176 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4177 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4184 @kindex / / (Summary)
4185 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4186 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4187 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4190 @kindex / a (Summary)
4191 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4192 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4193 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4197 @kindex / u (Summary)
4199 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4200 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4201 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4202 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4203 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4206 @kindex / m (Summary)
4207 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4208 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4209 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4212 @kindex / n (Summary)
4213 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4214 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4215 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4216 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4219 @kindex / w (Summary)
4220 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4221 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4222 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4226 @kindex / v (Summary)
4227 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4228 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4229 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4233 @kindex M S (Summary)
4234 @kindex / E (Summary)
4235 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4236 Display all expunged articles
4237 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4240 @kindex / D (Summary)
4241 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4242 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4245 @kindex / d (Summary)
4246 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4247 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4250 @kindex / c (Summary)
4251 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4252 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4253 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4256 @kindex / C (Summary)
4257 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4258 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4259 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4260 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4268 @cindex article threading
4270 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4271 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4275 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4276 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4280 @node Customizing Threading
4281 @subsection Customizing Threading
4282 @cindex customizing threading
4288 @item gnus-show-threads
4289 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4290 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4291 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4292 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4293 slower and more awkward.
4295 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4296 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4297 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4298 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4299 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4300 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4301 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4302 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4303 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4304 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4305 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4306 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4308 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4309 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4310 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4311 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4312 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4313 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4314 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4315 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4316 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4317 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4318 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4319 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4320 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4321 @code{nil} by default.
4323 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4324 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4325 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4326 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4327 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4328 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4329 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4330 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4331 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4332 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4333 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4335 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4336 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4337 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4339 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4340 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4341 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4342 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4343 simplification is used.
4345 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4346 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4347 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4348 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4350 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4352 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4358 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4359 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4360 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4361 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4366 (mapconcat 'identity
4367 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4369 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4372 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4375 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4376 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4377 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4378 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4379 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4380 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4381 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4382 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4384 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4385 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4386 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4387 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4388 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4389 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4390 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4391 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4392 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4396 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4397 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4398 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4399 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4401 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4402 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4403 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4406 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4410 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4411 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4414 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4415 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4416 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4417 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4418 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4419 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4421 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4422 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4423 There are four possible values:
4425 @cindex adopting articles
4430 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4431 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4432 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4433 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4436 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4437 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4438 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4439 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4440 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4441 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4442 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4445 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4446 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4447 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4451 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4452 display them after one another.
4455 Don't gather loose threads.
4458 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4459 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4460 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4463 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4464 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4465 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4468 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4469 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4470 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4471 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4472 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4475 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4476 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4477 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4482 @node Thread Commands
4483 @subsection Thread Commands
4484 @cindex thread commands
4490 @kindex T k (Summary)
4491 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4492 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4493 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4494 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4495 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4500 @kindex T l (Summary)
4501 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4503 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4504 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4507 @kindex T i (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4509 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4510 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4513 @kindex T # (Summary)
4514 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4515 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4516 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4519 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4521 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4522 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4525 @kindex T T (Summary)
4526 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4527 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4530 @kindex T s (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4532 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4533 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4536 @kindex T h (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4538 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4541 @kindex T S (Summary)
4542 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4543 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4546 @kindex T H (Summary)
4547 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4548 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4551 @kindex T t (Summary)
4552 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4553 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4554 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4555 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4558 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4560 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4561 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4565 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4566 understand the numeric prefix.
4571 @kindex T n (Summary)
4572 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4573 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4576 @kindex T p (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4578 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4581 @kindex T d (Summary)
4582 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4583 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4586 @kindex T u (Summary)
4587 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4588 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4591 @kindex T o (Summary)
4592 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4593 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4596 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4597 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4598 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4599 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4600 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4601 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4602 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4603 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4604 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4605 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4606 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4607 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4613 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4614 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4615 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4616 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4617 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4618 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4619 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4620 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4621 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4622 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4623 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4624 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4625 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4626 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4628 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4629 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4630 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4631 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4632 in the list. You should probably always include
4633 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4634 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4635 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4636 ascending article order.
4638 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4639 number, you could do something like:
4642 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4643 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4644 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4645 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4648 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4649 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4650 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4651 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4652 which the articles arrived.
4654 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4658 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4660 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4661 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4664 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4665 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4666 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4667 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4670 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4671 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4672 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4673 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4674 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4675 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4676 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4677 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4678 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4679 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4680 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4681 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4682 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4684 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4688 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4689 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4690 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4695 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4696 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4697 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4698 @cindex article pre-fetch
4701 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4702 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4703 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4704 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4705 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4707 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4708 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4710 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4711 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4712 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4713 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4714 connection is blocked.
4716 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4717 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4718 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4719 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4721 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4722 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4723 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4724 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4727 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4730 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4731 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4732 happen automatically.
4734 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4735 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4736 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4737 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4738 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4739 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4740 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4742 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4743 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4744 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4745 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4746 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4747 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4748 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4749 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4750 data structure as the only parameter.
4752 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4753 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4756 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4757 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4758 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4759 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4762 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4765 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4766 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4767 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4769 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4770 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4771 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4772 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4776 Remove articles when they are read.
4779 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4782 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4784 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4785 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4786 from the next group.
4789 @node Article Caching
4790 @section Article Caching
4791 @cindex article caching
4794 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4795 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4796 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4797 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4798 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4800 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4802 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4803 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4804 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4805 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4806 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4807 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4808 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4809 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4811 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4812 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4813 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4814 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4815 as dormant, and don't worry.
4817 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4819 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4820 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4821 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4822 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4823 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4824 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4825 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4826 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4827 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4828 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4830 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4831 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4832 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4833 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4834 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4835 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4836 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4838 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4839 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4840 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4841 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4842 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4843 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4844 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4847 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4848 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4849 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4850 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4851 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4852 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4853 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4854 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4855 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4859 @node Persistent Articles
4860 @section Persistent Articles
4861 @cindex persistent articles
4863 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4864 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4865 useful in my opinion.
4867 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4868 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4869 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4870 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4871 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4872 the expiry going on at the news server.
4874 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4875 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4876 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4882 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4883 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4886 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4887 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4888 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4889 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4893 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4895 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4896 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4897 interested in persistent articles:
4900 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4904 @node Article Backlog
4905 @section Article Backlog
4907 @cindex article backlog
4909 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4910 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4911 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4912 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4913 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4914 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4915 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4916 increase memory usage some.
4918 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4919 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4920 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4921 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4922 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4923 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4924 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4926 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4929 @node Saving Articles
4930 @section Saving Articles
4931 @cindex saving articles
4933 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4934 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4935 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4936 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4937 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4939 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4940 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4941 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4943 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4944 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4945 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4946 deleted before saving.
4952 @kindex O o (Summary)
4954 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4955 Save the current article using the default article saver
4956 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4959 @kindex O m (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4961 Save the current article in mail format
4962 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4965 @kindex O r (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4967 Save the current article in rmail format
4968 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4971 @kindex O f (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4973 Save the current article in plain file format
4974 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4977 @kindex O F (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
4979 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
4980 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
4983 @kindex O b (Summary)
4984 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4985 Save the current article body in plain file format
4986 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4989 @kindex O h (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4991 Save the current article in mh folder format
4992 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4995 @kindex O v (Summary)
4996 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4997 Save the current article in a VM folder
4998 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5001 @kindex O p (Summary)
5002 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5003 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5004 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5007 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5008 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5009 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5010 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5011 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5012 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5013 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5014 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5015 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5016 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5017 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5018 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5022 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5023 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5024 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5025 functions below, or you can create your own.
5029 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5030 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5031 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5032 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5033 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5034 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5035 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5037 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5038 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5039 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5040 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5041 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5042 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5044 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5045 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5046 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5047 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5048 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5049 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5050 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5052 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5053 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5054 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5055 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5056 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5058 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5059 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5060 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5061 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5062 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5065 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5066 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5067 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5068 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5069 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5070 the latter does not.
5072 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5073 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5074 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5075 reader to use this setting.
5078 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5079 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5080 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5081 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5084 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5085 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5086 available functions that generate names:
5090 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5091 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5092 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5094 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5095 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5096 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5098 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5099 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5100 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5102 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5103 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5104 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5107 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5108 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5109 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5110 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5111 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5115 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5116 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5117 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5118 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5121 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5122 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5123 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5124 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5125 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5126 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5127 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5128 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5129 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5131 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5132 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5133 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5134 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5136 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5137 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5138 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5141 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5142 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5143 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5144 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5145 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5146 all the files in the toplevel directory
5147 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5148 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5149 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5150 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5152 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5153 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5154 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5155 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5156 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5159 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5163 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5164 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5167 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5168 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5169 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5170 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5173 @node Decoding Articles
5174 @section Decoding Articles
5175 @cindex decoding articles
5177 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5178 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5181 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5182 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5183 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5184 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5185 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5188 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5189 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5190 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5191 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5192 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5194 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5195 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5196 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5198 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5199 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5200 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5202 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5203 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5204 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5207 @node Uuencoded Articles
5208 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5210 @cindex uuencoded articles
5215 @kindex X u (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5217 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5220 @kindex X U (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5222 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5223 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5226 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5227 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5228 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5231 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5233 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5234 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5237 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5238 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5239 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5240 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5241 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5243 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5244 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5245 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5246 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5249 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5250 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5251 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5252 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5253 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5254 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5258 @node Shared Articles
5259 @subsection Shared Articles
5261 @cindex shared articles
5266 @kindex X s (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5268 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5271 @kindex X S (Summary)
5272 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5273 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5276 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5278 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5281 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5282 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5283 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5284 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5288 @node PostScript Files
5289 @subsection PostScript Files
5295 @kindex X p (Summary)
5296 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5297 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5300 @kindex X P (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5302 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5303 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5306 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5307 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5308 View the current PostScript series
5309 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5312 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5314 View and save the current PostScript series
5315 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5319 @node Decoding Variables
5320 @subsection Decoding Variables
5322 Adjective, not verb.
5325 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5326 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5327 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5331 @node Rule Variables
5332 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5333 @cindex rule variables
5335 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5336 variables are on the form
5339 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5346 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5347 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5349 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5350 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5353 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5354 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5357 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5358 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5359 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5360 user and default view rules.
5362 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5363 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5364 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5369 @node Other Decode Variables
5370 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5373 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5375 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5376 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5377 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5378 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5379 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5383 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5384 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5387 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5388 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5389 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5392 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5393 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5394 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5395 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5396 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5399 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5400 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5401 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5403 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5404 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5405 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5406 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5407 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5410 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5411 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5412 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5414 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5415 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5416 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5417 looking for files to display.
5419 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5420 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5421 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5424 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5425 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5426 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5429 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5430 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5431 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5434 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5435 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5436 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5439 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5440 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5441 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5442 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5444 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5445 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5446 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5447 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5449 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5450 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5452 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5453 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5454 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5455 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5457 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5458 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5459 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5460 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5461 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5462 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5463 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5464 simply dropped them.
5469 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5470 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5474 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5475 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5476 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5477 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5478 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5479 for you when you post the article.
5481 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5482 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5483 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5484 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5486 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5487 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5488 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5489 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5490 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5491 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5492 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5494 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5495 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5496 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5497 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5498 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5499 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5500 Default is @code{t}.
5506 @subsection Viewing Files
5507 @cindex viewing files
5508 @cindex pseudo-articles
5510 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5511 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5512 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5513 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5514 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5515 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5516 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5518 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5519 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5520 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5521 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5523 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5524 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5525 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5527 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5528 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5529 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5530 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5531 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5533 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5534 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5535 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5536 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5537 a list of parameters to that command.
5539 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5540 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5541 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5543 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5544 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5545 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5548 @node Article Treatment
5549 @section Article Treatment
5551 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5552 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5553 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5554 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5555 these articles easier.
5558 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5559 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5560 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5561 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5562 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5563 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5564 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5568 @node Article Highlighting
5569 @subsection Article Highlighting
5572 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5573 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5578 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5579 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5580 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5583 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5584 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5585 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5586 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5587 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5588 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5589 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5590 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5591 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5592 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5593 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5596 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5597 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5598 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5600 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5603 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5605 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5606 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5607 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5609 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5610 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5611 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5613 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5614 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5615 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5617 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5618 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5619 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5620 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5621 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5624 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5625 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5626 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5628 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5629 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5630 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5632 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5633 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5634 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5635 that it's a citation.
5637 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5638 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5639 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5641 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5642 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5643 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5645 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5646 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5647 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5648 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5654 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5655 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5656 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5657 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5658 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5659 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5660 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5661 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5667 @node Article Fontisizing
5668 @subsection Article Fontisizing
5670 @cindex article emphasis
5672 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
5673 @kindex W e (Summary)
5674 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
5675 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
5676 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
5677 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
5679 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
5680 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
5681 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
5682 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
5683 that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
5684 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
5685 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
5686 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
5690 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
5691 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
5692 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
5695 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
5696 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
5697 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
5698 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
5699 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
5700 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
5701 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
5702 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
5703 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
5704 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
5705 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
5706 @code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
5707 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
5709 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
5710 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
5711 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
5715 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
5719 @node Article Hiding
5720 @subsection Article Hiding
5721 @cindex article hiding
5723 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5724 too much cruft in most articles.
5729 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-article-hide
5731 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5734 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5736 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5740 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5742 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5743 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5746 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5747 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5748 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5752 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5753 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5754 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5757 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5759 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5760 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5763 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5765 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5766 customizing the hiding:
5770 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5771 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5772 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5773 50), hide the cited text.
5775 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5776 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5777 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5780 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5781 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5782 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5783 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5784 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5789 Start point of the hidden text.
5791 End point of the hidden text.
5793 Length of the hidden text.
5796 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5797 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5798 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5803 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5805 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5806 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5807 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5808 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5812 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5813 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5814 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5816 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5817 citation customization.
5820 @node Article Washing
5821 @subsection Article Washing
5823 @cindex article washing
5825 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5826 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5828 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5829 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5835 @kindex W l (Summary)
5836 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5837 Remove page breaks from the current article
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5841 @kindex W r (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5843 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5844 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5847 @kindex W t (Summary)
5848 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5849 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5850 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5853 @kindex W v (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5855 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5856 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5859 @kindex W m (Summary)
5860 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5861 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5862 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5865 @kindex W o (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5867 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5870 @kindex W w (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5872 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5873 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5874 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5877 @kindex W c (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5879 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5882 @kindex W q (Summary)
5883 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5884 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5887 @kindex W f (Summary)
5889 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5890 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5891 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5892 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5893 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5894 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5895 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5896 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5897 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5898 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5899 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5900 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5901 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5902 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5903 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5904 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5905 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5906 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5910 @kindex W b (Summary)
5911 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5912 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5915 @kindex W B (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5917 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5918 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5921 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5923 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5924 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5927 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5929 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5930 lines with a single empty line.
5931 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5934 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5935 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5936 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5937 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5940 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5941 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5942 Do all the three commands above
5943 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5948 @node Article Buttons
5949 @subsection Article Buttons
5952 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5953 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5954 with the minimum of fuzz.
5956 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5957 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5958 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5963 @item gnus-button-alist
5964 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5965 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5968 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5974 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5975 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5976 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5979 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5980 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5981 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
5984 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5985 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5986 avoid false matches.
5989 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5992 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5993 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5997 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6000 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6003 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6004 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6005 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6006 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6007 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6010 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6013 @var{header} is a regular expression.
6015 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6016 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6017 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6018 default values of the variables above.
6020 @item gnus-article-button-face
6021 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6022 Face used on buttons.
6024 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6025 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6026 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6032 @subsection Article Date
6034 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6035 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6036 when the article was sent.
6041 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6042 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6043 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6044 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6047 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6048 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6049 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6052 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6054 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
6055 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6058 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6060 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6061 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
6062 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6063 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6064 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6069 @node Article Signature
6070 @subsection Article Signature
6072 @cindex article signature
6074 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6075 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6076 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6077 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6078 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6079 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6080 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6081 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6082 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6085 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6086 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6087 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6088 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6089 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6090 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6091 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6092 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6095 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6098 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6099 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6104 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6107 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6110 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6111 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6113 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6114 in question is not a signature.
6117 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6121 @node Summary Sorting
6122 @section Summary Sorting
6123 @cindex summary sorting
6125 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6126 can't really see why you'd want that.
6131 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6133 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6136 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6138 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6141 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6143 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6146 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6148 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6151 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6153 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6156 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6157 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6158 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6159 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6160 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6164 @node Finding the Parent
6165 @section Finding the Parent
6166 @cindex parent articles
6167 @cindex referring articles
6169 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6171 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6172 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6173 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6174 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6175 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6176 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6177 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6178 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6180 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6181 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6182 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6183 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6184 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6187 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6188 @kindex A R (Summary)
6189 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6190 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6191 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6193 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6194 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6196 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6197 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6198 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6199 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6200 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6201 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6202 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6204 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6205 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6206 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6207 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6208 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6209 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6210 not really necessary.
6212 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6213 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6214 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6215 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6216 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6217 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6220 @node Alternative Approaches
6221 @section Alternative Approaches
6223 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6224 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6227 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6228 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6233 @subsection Pick and Read
6234 @cindex pick and read
6236 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6237 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6238 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6239 an article buffer displayed.
6241 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6242 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6243 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6244 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6245 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6246 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6249 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6254 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6255 Pick the article on the current line
6256 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6257 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6258 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6261 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6262 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6263 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6264 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6268 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6269 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6273 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6274 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6278 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6279 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6283 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6284 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6288 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6289 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6293 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6294 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6298 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6299 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6303 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6304 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6308 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6309 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6313 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6314 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6318 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6319 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6320 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6321 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6322 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6323 will still be visible when you are reading.
6327 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6330 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6333 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6334 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6336 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6337 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6338 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6340 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6341 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6342 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6343 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6344 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6345 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6346 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6350 @subsection Binary Groups
6351 @cindex binary groups
6353 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6354 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6355 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6356 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6357 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6358 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6359 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6362 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6363 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6364 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6366 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6367 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6371 @section Tree Display
6374 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6375 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6376 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6377 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6380 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6383 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6384 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6385 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6387 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6388 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6389 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6390 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6393 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6394 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6395 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6396 default is @code{modeline}.
6398 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6399 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6400 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6401 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6402 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6403 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6404 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6410 The name of the poster.
6412 The @code{From} header.
6414 The number of the article.
6416 The opening bracket.
6418 The closing bracket.
6423 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6425 Variables related to the display are:
6428 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6429 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6430 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6431 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6432 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6433 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6435 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6436 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6437 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6438 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6442 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6443 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6444 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6445 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6446 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6447 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6449 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6450 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6451 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6452 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6453 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6454 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6455 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6459 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6462 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6472 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6476 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6477 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6479 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6481 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6487 @node Mail Group Commands
6488 @section Mail Group Commands
6489 @cindex mail group commands
6491 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6492 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6494 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6495 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6500 @kindex B e (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6502 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6503 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6506 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6507 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6508 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6509 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6510 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6511 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6514 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6515 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6516 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6517 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6518 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6521 @kindex B m (Summary)
6523 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6524 Move the article from one mail group to another
6525 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6528 @kindex B c (Summary)
6530 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6531 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6532 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6535 @kindex B C (Summary)
6536 @cindex crosspost mail
6537 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6538 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6539 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6540 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6541 be properly updated.
6544 @kindex B i (Summary)
6545 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6546 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6547 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6548 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6551 @kindex B r (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6553 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6557 @kindex B w (Summary)
6559 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6560 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6561 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6562 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6563 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6566 @kindex B q (Summary)
6567 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6568 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6569 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6570 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6573 @kindex B p (Summary)
6574 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6575 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6576 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6577 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6578 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6579 article from your news server (or rather, from
6580 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6581 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6582 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6583 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6584 just not have arrived yet.
6588 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6589 @cindex moving articles
6590 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6591 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6592 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6593 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6594 suggestions you find reasonable.
6597 @node Various Summary Stuff
6598 @section Various Summary Stuff
6601 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6602 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6603 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6604 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6608 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6609 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6610 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6612 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6613 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6614 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6615 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6616 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6617 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6620 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6621 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6622 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6623 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6624 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6629 @node Summary Group Information
6630 @subsection Summary Group Information
6635 @kindex H f (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6637 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6638 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6639 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6640 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6641 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6642 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6643 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6647 @kindex H d (Summary)
6648 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6649 Give a brief description of the current group
6650 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6651 rereading the description from the server.
6654 @kindex H h (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6656 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6657 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6660 @kindex H i (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6662 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6666 @node Searching for Articles
6667 @subsection Searching for Articles
6672 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6674 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6675 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6678 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6680 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6681 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6685 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6686 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6687 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6688 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6691 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6693 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6694 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6697 @node Summary Generation Commands
6698 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6703 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6704 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6705 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6708 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6709 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6710 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6711 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6716 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6717 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6722 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6723 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6724 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6725 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6726 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6727 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6728 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6729 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6730 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6734 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6736 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6737 several documents into one biiig group
6738 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6739 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6740 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6741 command understands the process/prefix convention
6742 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6745 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6746 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6747 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6748 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6749 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6750 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6754 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6755 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6756 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6761 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6762 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6763 @cindex summary exit
6764 @cindex exiting groups
6766 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6767 group and return you to the group buffer.
6773 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6775 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6776 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6777 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6778 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6779 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6780 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6781 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6782 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6787 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6789 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6790 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6791 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6795 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6797 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6798 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6799 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6802 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6803 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6804 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6805 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6808 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6809 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6810 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6811 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6814 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6815 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6816 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6817 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6818 all articles, both read and unread.
6822 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6823 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6824 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6825 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6826 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6827 articles, both read and unread.
6830 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6831 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6832 Exit the group and go to the next group
6833 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6836 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6837 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6838 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6839 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6842 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6843 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6846 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6847 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6848 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6849 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6850 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6851 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6852 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6853 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6854 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6855 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6856 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6857 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6859 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6861 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6862 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6863 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6864 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6865 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6866 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6867 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6868 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6869 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6872 @node Crosspost Handling
6873 @section Crosspost Handling
6877 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6878 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6879 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6880 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6881 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6882 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6885 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6886 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6887 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6888 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6889 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6891 @cindex cross-posting
6894 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6895 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6896 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6897 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6898 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6899 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6900 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6901 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6902 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6903 the cross reference mechanism.
6905 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6906 @cindex overview.fmt
6907 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6908 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6909 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6910 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6911 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6912 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6915 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6916 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6917 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6922 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6925 @node Duplicate Suppression
6926 @section Duplicate Suppression
6928 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6929 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6930 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6931 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6936 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6937 is evil and not very common.
6940 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6941 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6944 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6945 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6948 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6951 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6952 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6954 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6955 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6956 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6957 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6958 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6959 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6960 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6963 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6964 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6965 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6966 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6967 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6971 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6972 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6973 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6975 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6976 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6977 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6978 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6979 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6980 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6982 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6983 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6984 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6985 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6987 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6988 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6989 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6990 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6993 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6994 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6995 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6996 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6997 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6998 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6999 to you to figure out, I think.
7002 @node The Article Buffer
7003 @chapter The Article Buffer
7004 @cindex article buffer
7006 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7007 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7008 tell Gnus otherwise.
7011 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7012 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7013 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7014 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7015 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7019 @node Hiding Headers
7020 @section Hiding Headers
7021 @cindex hiding headers
7022 @cindex deleting headers
7024 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7025 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7027 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7028 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7029 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7030 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7031 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7032 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7033 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7034 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7035 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7037 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7041 @item gnus-visible-headers
7042 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7043 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7044 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7045 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7047 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7048 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7051 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7054 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7057 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7058 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7059 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7060 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7061 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7062 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7064 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7065 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7068 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7071 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7074 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7075 variable will have no effect.
7079 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7080 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7081 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7082 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7083 the headers are to be displayed.
7085 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7086 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7089 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7092 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7093 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7094 are listed in this variable.
7096 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7097 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7098 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7099 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7100 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7101 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7102 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7103 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7104 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7106 These conditions are:
7109 Remove all empty headers.
7111 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7114 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7115 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7117 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7120 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7124 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7127 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7128 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7131 This is also the default value for this variable.
7135 @section Using @sc{mime}
7138 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7139 while people stand around yawning.
7141 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7142 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7144 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7145 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7146 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7148 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7149 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7150 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7151 @findex metamail-buffer
7152 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7153 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7154 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7155 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7156 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7157 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7158 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7159 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7161 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7162 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7163 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7164 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7165 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7166 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7167 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7168 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7169 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7171 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7174 @node Customizing Articles
7175 @section Customizing Articles
7176 @cindex article customization
7178 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7179 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7180 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7181 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7183 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7184 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7185 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7186 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7187 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7188 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7189 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7190 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7191 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7193 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7194 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7195 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7196 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7197 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7200 @node Article Keymap
7201 @section Article Keymap
7203 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7204 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7205 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7206 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7209 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7214 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7215 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7216 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7219 @kindex DEL (Article)
7220 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7221 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7224 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7225 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7226 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7227 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7228 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7231 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7232 @findex gnus-article-mail
7233 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7234 given a prefix, include the mail.
7238 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7239 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7240 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7244 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7245 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7246 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7249 @kindex TAB (Article)
7250 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7251 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7252 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7255 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7256 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7257 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7263 @section Misc Article
7267 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7268 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7269 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7270 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7273 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7274 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7275 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7276 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7277 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7278 the contents of the article buffer.
7280 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7281 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7282 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7283 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7284 hiding headers, and the like.
7286 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7287 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7288 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7290 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7291 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7292 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7293 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7295 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7296 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7297 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7298 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7299 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7303 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7304 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7308 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7310 @item gnus-break-pages
7311 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7312 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7313 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7314 paging will not be done.
7316 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7317 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7318 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7323 @node Composing Messages
7324 @chapter Composing Messages
7329 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7330 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7331 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7332 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7333 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7334 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7335 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7338 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7339 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7340 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7341 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7342 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7343 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7344 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7345 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7348 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7349 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7355 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7358 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7359 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7360 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7361 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7369 Variables for composing news articles:
7372 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7373 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7374 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7375 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7376 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7377 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7378 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7379 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7380 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7383 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7384 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7385 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7386 file. It is 1000 by default.
7391 @node Posting Server
7392 @section Posting Server
7394 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7395 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7397 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7399 @vindex gnus-post-method
7401 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7402 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7403 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7404 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7405 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7408 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7411 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7412 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7413 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7414 the ``current'' server for posting.
7416 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7417 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7419 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7420 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7425 @section Mail and Post
7427 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7431 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7432 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7433 @cindex mailing lists
7435 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7436 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7437 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7438 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7439 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7440 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7441 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7442 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7443 still a pain, though.
7447 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7448 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7449 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7452 @findex ispell-message
7454 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7458 @node Archived Messages
7459 @section Archived Messages
7460 @cindex archived messages
7461 @cindex sent messages
7463 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7464 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7465 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7466 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7468 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7469 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7470 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7474 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7477 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7478 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7479 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7480 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7483 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7484 '(nnfolder "archive"
7485 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7486 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7487 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7490 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7492 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7493 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7494 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7496 This variable can be:
7500 Messages will be saved in that group.
7501 @item a list of strings
7502 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7503 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7504 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7506 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7511 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7513 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7516 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7518 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7521 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7523 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7524 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7525 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7526 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7531 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7532 '((if (message-news-p)
7537 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7538 messages in one file per month:
7541 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7542 '((if (message-news-p)
7544 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7545 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7548 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7549 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7550 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7551 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7552 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7553 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7554 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7555 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7556 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7557 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7559 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7560 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7561 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7564 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7565 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7568 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7569 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7570 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7571 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7572 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7575 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7576 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7577 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7582 @c @node Posting Styles
7583 @c @section Posting Styles
7584 @c @cindex posting styles
7587 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7589 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7590 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7591 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7594 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7595 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7596 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7597 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7598 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7603 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7604 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7606 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7607 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7608 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7611 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7612 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7613 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7614 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7615 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7616 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7617 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7618 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7620 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7621 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7622 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7623 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7624 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7625 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7628 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7629 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7630 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7631 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7632 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7635 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7636 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7637 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7639 @c So here's a new example:
7642 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7644 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7645 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7646 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7647 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7649 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7650 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7651 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7652 @c (posting-from-work-p
7653 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7654 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7655 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7657 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7664 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7665 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7666 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7667 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7668 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7670 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7671 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7672 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7673 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7674 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7678 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7679 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7680 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7681 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7682 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7683 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7684 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7685 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7687 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7690 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7691 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7692 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7693 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7694 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7695 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7696 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7697 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7698 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7699 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7700 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7701 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7702 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7703 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7705 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7706 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7707 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7709 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7710 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7711 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7712 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7713 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7715 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7718 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7719 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7720 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7721 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7722 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7725 @c @node Rejected Articles
7726 @c @section Rejected Articles
7727 @c @cindex rejected articles
7729 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7730 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7731 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7732 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7734 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7735 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7736 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7737 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7738 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7740 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7741 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7742 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7745 @node Select Methods
7746 @chapter Select Methods
7747 @cindex foreign groups
7748 @cindex select methods
7750 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7751 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7752 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7753 personal mail group.
7755 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7756 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7757 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7758 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7759 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7760 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7762 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7763 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7765 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7768 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7769 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7770 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7771 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7772 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7774 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7777 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7778 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7779 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7780 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7781 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7785 @node The Server Buffer
7786 @section The Server Buffer
7788 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7789 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7790 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7791 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7792 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7793 backend represents a virtual server.
7795 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7796 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7797 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7798 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7800 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7801 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7802 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7803 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7804 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7805 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7806 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7808 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7809 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7812 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7813 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7814 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7815 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7816 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7817 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7820 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7821 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7824 @node Server Buffer Format
7825 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7826 @cindex server buffer format
7828 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7829 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7830 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7831 variable, with some simple extensions:
7836 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7839 The name of this server.
7842 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7845 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7848 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7849 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7850 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7861 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7864 @node Server Commands
7865 @subsection Server Commands
7866 @cindex server commands
7872 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7873 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7877 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7878 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7881 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7882 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7883 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7887 @findex gnus-server-exit
7888 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7892 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7893 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7897 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7898 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7902 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7903 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7907 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7908 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7912 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7913 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7914 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7919 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
7920 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
7921 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
7922 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
7927 @node Example Methods
7928 @subsection Example Methods
7930 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7933 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7936 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7942 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7943 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7946 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7947 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7949 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7950 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
7954 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7957 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7958 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7960 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7961 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7962 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7966 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7969 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7972 Here's the method for a public spool:
7976 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7977 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7981 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7982 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7984 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7985 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7987 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7988 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7989 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7991 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7993 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7994 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7995 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7996 will contain the following:
8006 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8007 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8008 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8011 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8012 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8013 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8016 @node Servers and Methods
8017 @subsection Servers and Methods
8019 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8020 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8021 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8022 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8026 @node Unavailable Servers
8027 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8029 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8030 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8031 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8032 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8033 actually the case or not.
8035 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8036 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
8037 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8038 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
8039 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
8040 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
8041 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
8042 regard that server as ``down''.
8044 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8045 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8047 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8048 with the following commands:
8054 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8055 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8056 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8060 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8061 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8062 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8066 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8067 Mark the current server as unreachable
8068 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8071 @kindex M-o (Server)
8072 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8073 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8074 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8077 @kindex M-c (Server)
8078 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8079 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8080 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8084 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8085 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
8086 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8092 @section Getting News
8093 @cindex reading news
8094 @cindex news backends
8096 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8097 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8098 or it can read from a local spool.
8101 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8102 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8107 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8110 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8111 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8112 server as the, uhm, address.
8114 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8115 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8116 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8117 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8119 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8120 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8121 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8123 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8128 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8129 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8130 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8132 @cindex authentification
8133 @cindex nntp authentification
8134 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8135 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8136 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8137 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8138 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8139 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8141 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8142 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8143 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8144 server. Available functions include:
8147 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8148 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8149 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8150 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8152 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8153 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8154 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8156 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8157 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8158 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8159 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8162 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8163 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8164 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8165 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8166 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8169 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8173 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8175 The default value is
8178 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8179 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8182 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8183 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8185 @item nntp-maximum-request
8186 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8187 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8188 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8189 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8190 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8191 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8192 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8194 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8195 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8196 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8197 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8198 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8199 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8200 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8201 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8202 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8203 no timeouts are done.
8205 @item nntp-command-timeout
8206 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8207 @cindex PPP connections
8208 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8209 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8210 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8211 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8212 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8213 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8214 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8215 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8216 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8217 likely number is 30 seconds.
8219 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8220 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8221 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8222 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8225 @item nntp-server-hook
8226 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8227 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8230 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8231 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8232 @item nntp-open-server-function
8233 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8234 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8235 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8236 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8237 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8238 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8240 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8241 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8242 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8243 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8244 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8246 @item nntp-end-of-line
8247 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8248 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8249 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8250 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8252 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8253 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8254 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8258 @vindex nntp-address
8259 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8261 @item nntp-port-number
8262 @vindex nntp-port-number
8263 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8266 @item nntp-buggy-select
8267 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8268 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8270 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8271 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8272 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8273 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8274 can be used automatically.
8276 @item nntp-xover-commands
8277 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8280 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8281 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8285 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8286 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8287 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8288 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8289 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8290 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8291 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8292 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8293 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8294 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8295 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8297 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8298 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8299 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8301 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8302 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8303 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8304 server closes connection.
8310 @subsection News Spool
8314 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8315 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8316 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8319 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8320 anything else) as the address.
8322 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8323 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8324 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8325 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8329 @item nnspool-inews-program
8330 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8331 Program used to post an article.
8333 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8334 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8335 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8337 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8338 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8339 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8340 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8342 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8343 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8344 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8345 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8347 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8348 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8349 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8351 @item nnspool-active-file
8352 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8353 The path of the active file.
8355 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8356 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8357 The path of the group descriptions file.
8359 @item nnspool-history-file
8360 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8361 The path of the news history file.
8363 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8364 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8365 The path of the active date file.
8367 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8368 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8369 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8372 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8373 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8375 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8376 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8377 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8383 @section Getting Mail
8384 @cindex reading mail
8387 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8391 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8392 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8393 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8394 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8395 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8396 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8397 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8398 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8399 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8400 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8401 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8405 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8406 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8408 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8409 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8410 and things will happen automatically.
8412 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8413 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8416 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8417 '((nnml "private")))
8420 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8421 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8422 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8423 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8424 like any other group.
8426 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8429 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8430 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8431 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8435 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8436 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8437 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8440 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8441 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8442 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8445 @node Splitting Mail
8446 @subsection Splitting Mail
8447 @cindex splitting mail
8448 @cindex mail splitting
8450 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8451 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8452 to be split into groups.
8455 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8456 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8457 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8461 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8462 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8463 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8464 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8465 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8467 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8468 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8471 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8472 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8473 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8474 mail belongs in that group.
8476 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8477 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8478 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8480 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8481 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8482 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8483 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8484 thinks should carry this mail message.
8486 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8487 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8488 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8489 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8491 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8492 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8493 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8494 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8495 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8497 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8500 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8501 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8502 links. If that's the case for you, set
8503 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8504 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8506 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8507 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8508 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8509 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8511 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8512 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8513 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8514 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8515 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8516 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8517 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8518 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8522 @node Mail Backend Variables
8523 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8525 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8529 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8530 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8531 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8532 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8534 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8535 @item nnmail-spool-file
8539 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8540 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8541 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8542 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8543 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8544 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8545 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8546 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8547 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8548 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8549 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8550 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8551 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8552 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8553 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8555 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8556 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8559 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8560 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8561 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8562 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8563 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8564 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8566 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8567 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8568 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8569 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8570 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8571 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8572 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8575 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8576 @item nnmail-crash-box
8577 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8578 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8579 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8582 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8583 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8584 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8585 used for, well, anything, really.
8587 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8588 @item nnmail-split-hook
8589 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8590 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8591 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8592 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8593 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8594 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8595 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8596 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8598 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8599 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8600 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8601 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8602 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8603 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8604 starting to handle the new mail) and
8605 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8606 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8607 default file modes the new mail files get:
8610 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8611 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8613 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8614 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8617 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8618 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8619 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8620 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8621 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8622 it will be used instead.
8624 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8625 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8626 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8627 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8629 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8630 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8633 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8634 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8635 @cindex incoming mail files
8636 @cindex deleting incoming files
8637 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8638 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8639 default for reasons of security.
8641 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8642 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8643 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8644 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8645 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8647 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8649 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8650 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8651 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8652 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8653 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8656 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8657 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8659 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8664 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8665 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8666 @cindex mail splitting
8667 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8669 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8670 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8671 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8672 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8673 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8674 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8676 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8679 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8680 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8681 ;; from real errors.
8682 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8684 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8685 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8686 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8687 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8688 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8689 ;; Other mailing lists...
8690 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8691 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8693 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8694 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8698 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8699 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8700 the five possible split syntaxes:
8705 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8708 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8709 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8710 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8714 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8715 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8716 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8717 be stored in one or more groups.
8720 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8721 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8724 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8725 this message anywhere.
8728 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8729 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
8730 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
8735 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
8736 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
8737 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
8738 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
8739 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
8741 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8742 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
8743 are expanded as specified by the variable
8744 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
8745 the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
8747 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8748 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8749 when all this splitting is performed.
8751 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
8752 information in the headers, you can say things like:
8755 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
8758 That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
8761 @node Mail and Procmail
8762 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8767 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8768 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8769 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8770 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8771 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8773 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8774 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8777 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8778 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8779 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8780 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8781 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8782 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8784 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8787 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8789 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8790 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8792 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8793 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8794 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8795 to include all your mail groups.
8797 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8798 method will be created automatically.
8800 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8801 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8802 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8803 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8804 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8805 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8806 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8807 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8809 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8810 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8811 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8812 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8813 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8815 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8816 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8817 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8818 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8819 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8822 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8823 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8824 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8825 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8826 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8829 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8830 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8831 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8832 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8833 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8837 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8838 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8840 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8841 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8842 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8845 Doing so can be quite easy.
8847 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8848 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8849 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8850 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8851 your @code{nnml} groups.
8857 Go to the group buffer.
8860 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8861 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8864 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8867 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8871 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8872 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8875 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8876 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8877 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8878 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8879 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8881 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8882 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8883 using the new mail backend.
8887 @subsection Expiring Mail
8888 @cindex article expiry
8890 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8891 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8892 different approach to mail reading.
8894 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8895 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8896 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8897 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8898 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8899 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8902 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8903 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8904 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8905 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8906 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8907 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8908 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8909 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8911 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8912 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8913 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8914 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8915 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8916 column in the summary buffer.
8918 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
8919 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
8920 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
8921 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
8922 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
8924 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8925 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8928 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8929 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8932 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8933 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8935 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
8936 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
8937 doesn't really mix very well.
8939 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8940 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8941 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8943 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8944 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8945 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8946 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8949 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8951 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8953 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8955 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8957 ((string= group "important")
8963 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8964 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8966 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8967 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8968 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8971 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8972 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8974 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8975 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8976 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8977 easier for procmail users.
8979 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8980 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8981 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8982 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8983 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8984 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8985 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8986 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8987 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8988 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8989 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8990 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8991 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8994 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
8998 @subsection Washing Mail
8999 @cindex mail washing
9000 @cindex list server brain damage
9001 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9003 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9004 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9005 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9006 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9007 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9008 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9010 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9011 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9012 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9015 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9016 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9017 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9018 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9021 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9022 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9023 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9024 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9027 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9028 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9029 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9030 Emacs running on MS machines.
9034 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9035 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9036 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9037 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9040 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9041 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9042 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9043 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
9045 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9046 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9047 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9048 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9049 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9050 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9051 also be a list of regexp.
9053 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9054 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9057 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9058 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9061 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9062 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9063 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9067 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9068 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9069 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9073 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9074 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9075 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9082 @subsection Duplicates
9084 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9085 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9086 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9087 @cindex duplicate mails
9088 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
9089 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9090 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9091 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9092 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9093 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9094 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9095 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9096 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9097 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9098 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9099 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
9100 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
9101 duplicate of a different message.
9103 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9104 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9105 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9106 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9108 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9111 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9112 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9116 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9117 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9118 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9119 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9120 (any mail "mail.misc")
9127 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9128 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9133 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9134 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9135 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9136 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9137 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9140 @node Not Reading Mail
9141 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9143 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9144 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9145 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9147 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9148 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9150 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9151 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9152 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9153 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9154 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9155 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9156 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9157 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9158 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9159 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9160 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9162 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9163 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9167 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9168 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9170 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9171 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9172 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9175 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9176 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9177 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9178 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9179 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9184 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9186 @cindex unix mail box
9188 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9189 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9190 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9191 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9192 which group it belongs in.
9194 Virtual server settings:
9197 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9198 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9199 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9201 @item nnmbox-active-file
9202 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9203 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9205 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9206 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9207 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9213 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9217 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9218 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9219 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9220 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9221 article to say which group it belongs in.
9223 Virtual server settings:
9226 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9227 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9228 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9230 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9231 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9232 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9234 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9235 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9236 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9241 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9243 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9245 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9246 format. It should be used with some caution.
9248 @vindex nnml-directory
9249 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9250 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9251 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9252 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9254 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9257 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9258 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9259 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9260 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9261 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9262 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9263 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9264 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9266 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9267 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9268 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9269 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9271 Virtual server settings:
9274 @item nnml-directory
9275 @vindex nnml-directory
9276 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9278 @item nnml-active-file
9279 @vindex nnml-active-file
9280 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9282 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9283 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9284 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9287 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9288 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9289 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9291 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9292 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9293 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9295 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9296 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9297 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9299 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9300 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9301 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9305 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9306 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9307 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9308 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9309 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9310 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
9311 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
9316 @subsubsection MH Spool
9318 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9320 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9321 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9322 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9323 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9325 Virtual server settings:
9328 @item nnmh-directory
9329 @vindex nnmh-directory
9330 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9332 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9333 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9334 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9337 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9338 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9339 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9340 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9341 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9342 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9343 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9348 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9350 @cindex mbox folders
9351 @cindex mail folders
9353 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9354 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9355 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9358 Virtual server settings:
9361 @item nnfolder-directory
9362 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9363 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9365 @item nnfolder-active-file
9366 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9367 The name of the active file.
9369 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9370 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9371 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9373 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9374 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9375 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9378 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9379 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9380 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9381 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9382 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9383 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9387 @section Other Sources
9389 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9390 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9394 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9395 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9396 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9397 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9398 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9399 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9403 @node Directory Groups
9404 @subsection Directory Groups
9406 @cindex directory groups
9408 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9409 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9412 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9413 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9414 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9416 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9417 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9418 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9419 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9420 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9422 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9424 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9425 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9426 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9427 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9430 @node Anything Groups
9431 @subsection Anything Groups
9434 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9435 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9436 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9439 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9440 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9441 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9442 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9443 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9444 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9445 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9446 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9447 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9448 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9451 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9452 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9453 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9454 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9456 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9457 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9458 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9459 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9461 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9462 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9463 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9464 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9465 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9466 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9467 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9468 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9473 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9474 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9475 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9476 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9478 @item nneething-exclude-files
9479 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9480 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9481 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9483 @item nneething-map-file
9484 @vindex nneething-map-file
9485 Name of the map files.
9489 @node Document Groups
9490 @subsection Document Groups
9492 @cindex documentation group
9495 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9496 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9503 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9508 The standard Unix mbox file.
9510 @cindex MMDF mail box
9512 The MMDF mail box format.
9515 Several news articles appended into a file.
9518 @cindex rnews batch files
9519 The rnews batch transport format.
9520 @cindex forwarded messages
9529 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9530 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9531 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9533 @item standard-digest
9534 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9537 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9540 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9541 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9542 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9545 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9546 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9547 group. And that's it.
9549 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9550 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9551 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9552 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9553 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9554 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9555 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9556 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9557 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9558 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9560 Virtual server variables:
9563 @item nndoc-article-type
9564 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9565 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9566 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9567 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9569 @item nndoc-post-type
9570 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9571 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9572 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9577 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9581 @node Document Server Internals
9582 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9584 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9585 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9586 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9587 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9589 First, here's an example document type definition:
9593 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9594 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9597 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9598 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9599 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9600 types can be defined with very few settings:
9604 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9605 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9609 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9610 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9612 @item head-begin-function
9613 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9616 @item nndoc-head-begin
9617 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9620 @item nndoc-head-end
9621 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9622 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9624 @item body-begin-function
9625 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9629 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9632 @item body-end-function
9633 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9637 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9639 @item nndoc-file-end
9640 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9641 regexp will be totally ignored.
9645 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9646 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9647 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9648 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9649 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9652 @item prepare-body-function
9653 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9654 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9655 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9657 @item article-transform-function
9658 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9659 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9660 body of the article.
9662 @item generate-head-function
9663 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9664 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9665 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9666 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9670 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9675 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9676 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9677 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9678 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9680 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9681 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9682 (subtype digest guess))
9685 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9686 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9687 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9688 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9689 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9691 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9692 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9693 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9694 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9695 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9696 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9697 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9698 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9699 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9700 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9701 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9709 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9710 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9711 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9713 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9714 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9715 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9718 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9719 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9720 that interested in doing things properly.
9722 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9723 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9726 First some terminology:
9731 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9732 get news and/or mail from.
9735 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9736 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9739 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9743 @item message packets
9744 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9745 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9746 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9748 @item response packets
9749 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9750 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9751 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9761 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9762 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9763 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9764 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9767 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9770 You put the packet in your home directory.
9773 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9774 the native or secondary server.
9777 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9778 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9781 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9785 You transfer this packet to the server.
9788 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9791 You then repeat until you die.
9795 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9796 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9799 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9800 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9801 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9806 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9808 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
9812 @kindex G s b (Group)
9813 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9814 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9815 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9816 process/prefix convention.
9819 @kindex G s w (Group)
9820 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9821 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9824 @kindex G s s (Group)
9825 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9826 Send all replies from the replies packet
9827 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9830 @kindex G s p (Group)
9831 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9832 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9835 @kindex G s r (Group)
9836 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9837 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9840 @kindex O s (Summary)
9841 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9842 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9843 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9844 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9849 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9854 @item gnus-soup-directory
9855 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9856 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9857 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9859 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9860 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9861 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9862 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9864 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9865 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9866 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9869 @item gnus-soup-packer
9870 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9871 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9872 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9874 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9875 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9876 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9877 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9879 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9880 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9881 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9883 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9884 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9885 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9886 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9892 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9895 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9896 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9897 you can read them at leisure.
9899 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9903 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9904 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9905 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9906 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9908 @item nnsoup-directory
9909 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9910 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9911 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9913 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9914 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9915 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9916 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9918 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9919 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9920 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9921 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9922 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9924 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9925 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9926 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9927 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9929 @item nnsoup-active-file
9930 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9931 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9932 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9933 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9934 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9937 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9938 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9939 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9941 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9942 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9943 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9944 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9946 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9947 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9948 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9951 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9952 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9953 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9960 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9962 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9963 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9964 more for that to happen.
9966 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9967 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9968 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9971 In specific, this is what it does:
9974 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9975 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9978 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9979 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9980 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9984 @subsection Web Searches
9989 @cindex Usenet searches
9990 @cindex searching the Usenet
9992 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9993 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9994 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9995 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9996 searches without having to use a browser.
9998 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9999 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10000 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10001 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10002 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10004 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10005 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10006 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10007 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10008 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
10009 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10010 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10011 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10012 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10013 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
10014 read the group as read.
10016 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10017 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10018 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10019 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10020 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10021 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10023 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10024 to use @code{nnweb}.
10026 Virtual server variables:
10031 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10032 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10035 @vindex nnweb-search
10036 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10038 @item nnweb-max-hits
10039 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10040 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10043 @item nnweb-type-definition
10044 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10045 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10046 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10051 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10055 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10058 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10061 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10065 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10072 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10073 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10074 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10077 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10078 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10079 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10081 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10087 @item nngateway-address
10088 @vindex nngateway-address
10089 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10091 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10092 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10093 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10094 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10095 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10096 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10097 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10100 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10101 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
10102 @code{Newsgroups} header:
10105 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10108 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10111 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10116 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10119 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10123 @node Combined Groups
10124 @section Combined Groups
10126 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10130 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10131 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10135 @node Virtual Groups
10136 @subsection Virtual Groups
10138 @cindex virtual groups
10140 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10143 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10144 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10145 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10147 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10148 regexp to match component groups.
10150 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10151 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10152 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10153 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10154 the virtual group.)
10156 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10157 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10160 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10163 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10164 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10166 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10167 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10168 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10169 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10172 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10175 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10176 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10177 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10178 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10179 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10181 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10182 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10183 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10185 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10186 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10187 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10188 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10189 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10190 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10191 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10192 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10193 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10194 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10195 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10198 @node Kibozed Groups
10199 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10203 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10204 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10205 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10206 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10208 @kindex G k (Group)
10209 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10212 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10213 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10214 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10215 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10217 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10218 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10219 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10221 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10222 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10223 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10224 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10225 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10226 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10227 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10228 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10230 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10231 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10232 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10233 Stranger things have happened.
10235 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10236 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10238 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10239 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10240 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10241 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10242 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10243 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10246 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10247 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10254 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10255 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10256 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10259 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10260 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10261 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10262 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10263 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10265 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10266 before generating the summary buffer.
10268 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10269 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10270 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10272 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10273 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10274 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10275 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10278 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10279 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10280 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10281 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10282 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10283 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
10284 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10285 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10286 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10287 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10288 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10289 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10290 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10291 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10292 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10293 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10297 @node Summary Score Commands
10298 @section Summary Score Commands
10299 @cindex score commands
10301 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10302 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10303 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10304 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10305 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10307 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10308 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10309 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10310 score file the current one.
10312 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10317 @kindex V s (Summary)
10318 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10319 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10322 @kindex V S (Summary)
10323 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10324 Display the score of the current article
10325 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10328 @kindex V t (Summary)
10329 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10330 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10331 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10334 @kindex V R (Summary)
10335 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10336 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10337 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10338 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10339 effect you're having.
10342 @kindex V a (Summary)
10343 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10344 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10345 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10348 @kindex V c (Summary)
10349 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10350 Make a different score file the current
10351 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10354 @kindex V e (Summary)
10355 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10356 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10357 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10361 @kindex V f (Summary)
10362 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10363 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10364 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10367 @kindex V F (Summary)
10368 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10369 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10370 after editing score files.
10373 @kindex V C (Summary)
10374 @findex gnus-score-customize
10375 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10376 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10379 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10380 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10381 Increase the score of the current article
10382 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10385 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10386 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10387 Lower the score of the current article
10388 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10391 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10396 @kindex V m (Summary)
10397 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10398 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10399 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10402 @kindex V x (Summary)
10403 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10404 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10405 expunge all articles below this score
10406 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10409 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10410 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10415 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10416 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10418 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10419 keys are available:
10423 Score on the author name.
10426 Score on the subject line.
10429 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10432 Score on thread---the References line.
10438 Score on the number of lines.
10441 Score on the Message-ID.
10444 Score on followups.
10454 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10455 what headers you are scoring on.
10467 Substring matching.
10499 Greater than number.
10504 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10505 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10506 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10510 Temporary score entry.
10513 Permanent score entry.
10516 Immediately scoring.
10521 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10522 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10523 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10524 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10526 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10527 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10528 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10529 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10530 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10532 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10533 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10534 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10537 @node Group Score Commands
10538 @section Group Score Commands
10539 @cindex group score commands
10541 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10546 @kindex W f (Group)
10547 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10548 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10549 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10550 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10555 @node Score Variables
10556 @section Score Variables
10557 @cindex score variables
10561 @item gnus-use-scoring
10562 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10563 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10564 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10566 @item gnus-kill-killed
10567 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10568 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10569 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10570 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10571 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10572 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10573 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10575 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10576 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10577 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10578 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10579 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10581 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10582 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10583 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10584 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10586 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10587 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10588 @cindex score cache
10589 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10590 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10591 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10592 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10593 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10594 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10595 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10598 @item gnus-save-score
10599 @vindex gnus-save-score
10600 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10601 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10602 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10604 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10605 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10606 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10607 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10608 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10609 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10610 manually entered data.
10612 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10613 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10614 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10616 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10617 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10618 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10619 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10621 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10622 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10623 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10624 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10626 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10627 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10628 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10629 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10631 Predefined functions available are:
10634 @item gnus-score-find-single
10635 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10636 Only apply the group's own score file.
10638 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10639 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10640 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10641 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10642 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10643 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10644 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10645 then a regexp match is done.
10647 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10648 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10650 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10651 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10652 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10653 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10655 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10656 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10657 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10658 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10659 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10662 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10663 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10664 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10665 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10666 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10667 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10670 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10671 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10672 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10673 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10674 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10676 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10677 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10678 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10679 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10680 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10681 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10682 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10685 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10686 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10687 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10692 @node Score File Format
10693 @section Score File Format
10694 @cindex score file format
10696 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10697 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10698 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10700 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10704 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10706 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10708 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10710 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10715 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10719 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10720 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10721 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10722 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10726 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10728 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10729 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10730 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10732 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10737 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10738 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10739 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10740 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10741 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10742 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10743 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10744 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10745 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10746 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10747 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10748 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10749 to articles that matches these score entries.
10751 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10752 score entry has one to four elements.
10756 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10757 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10761 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10762 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10763 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10764 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10765 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10766 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10769 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10770 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10771 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10772 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10773 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10776 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10777 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10778 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10779 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10782 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10783 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10784 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10785 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10786 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10787 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10788 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10789 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10790 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10791 instead, if you feel like.
10794 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10795 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
10796 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
10797 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
10798 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
10799 the articles with few lines.
10802 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10803 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10804 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10805 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10806 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10807 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10808 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10812 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10813 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10814 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10815 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10816 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10817 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10818 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10819 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10822 @item Head, Body, All
10823 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10827 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
10828 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
10829 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
10830 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
10831 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
10832 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
10836 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
10837 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
10838 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
10839 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
10840 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
10841 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
10842 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
10843 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
10844 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
10845 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
10850 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10851 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10854 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10855 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10857 @item mark-and-expunge
10858 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10859 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10862 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10863 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10864 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10865 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10866 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10869 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10870 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10873 @item exclude-files
10874 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
10875 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10879 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10880 ignored when handling global score files.
10883 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10884 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10887 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10888 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10889 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10890 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10892 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10896 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10899 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10900 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10901 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10902 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10903 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10905 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10906 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10907 ordinary scoring rules.
10910 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10911 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10912 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10913 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10914 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10915 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10916 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10917 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10918 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10919 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10920 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10924 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10925 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10926 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10927 file for a number of groups.
10930 @cindex local variables
10931 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10932 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10933 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10934 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10939 @node Score File Editing
10940 @section Score File Editing
10942 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10943 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10944 with a mode for that.
10946 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10947 additional commands:
10952 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10953 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10954 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10955 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10958 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10959 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10960 Insert the current date in numerical format
10961 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10962 you were wondering.
10965 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10966 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10967 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10968 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10969 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10974 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10976 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10977 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10979 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10980 e} to begin editing score files.
10983 @node Adaptive Scoring
10984 @section Adaptive Scoring
10985 @cindex adaptive scoring
10987 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10988 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10989 stupidity, to be precise.
10991 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10992 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10993 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10994 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10995 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10996 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10997 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10998 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10999 variable to @code{(word line)}.
11001 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11002 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
11003 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
11004 might look something like this:
11007 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11008 '((gnus-unread-mark)
11009 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
11010 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
11011 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
11012 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
11013 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
11014 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
11015 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
11016 (gnus-ancient-mark)
11017 (gnus-low-score-mark)
11018 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
11021 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
11022 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
11023 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
11024 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
11025 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
11026 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
11029 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
11030 will be applied to each article.
11032 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
11033 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
11034 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
11035 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
11037 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
11038 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
11039 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
11040 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
11042 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
11043 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
11044 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
11045 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
11047 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
11048 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
11049 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
11050 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
11051 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
11052 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
11054 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
11055 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
11056 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
11057 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
11058 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
11059 aspirins afterwards.)
11061 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
11062 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
11063 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
11065 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
11066 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
11067 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
11069 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
11070 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
11071 let you use different rules in different groups.
11073 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
11074 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
11075 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
11078 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
11079 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
11080 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
11081 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
11082 the length of the match is less than
11083 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
11084 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
11087 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11088 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
11089 headers. If you adapt on words, the
11090 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
11091 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
11094 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11095 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
11096 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
11097 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
11098 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
11101 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
11102 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
11103 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
11104 score with 30 points.
11106 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
11107 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
11108 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
11109 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
11110 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
11112 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
11113 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
11114 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
11115 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
11117 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11118 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11119 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11122 @node Home Score File
11123 @section Home Score File
11125 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11126 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11127 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11128 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11130 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11131 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11132 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11134 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11135 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11140 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11144 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11145 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11149 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11153 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11154 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11157 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11158 the home score file.
11161 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11164 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11169 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11172 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11173 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11176 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11177 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11180 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11181 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11184 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11186 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11187 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11188 their own home score files:
11191 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11192 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11193 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11194 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11195 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11198 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11199 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11200 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11201 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11202 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11204 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11205 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11206 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11207 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11208 precedence over this variable.
11211 @node Followups To Yourself
11212 @section Followups To Yourself
11214 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11215 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11216 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11217 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11218 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11219 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11223 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11224 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11225 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11228 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11229 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11230 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11234 @vindex message-sent-hook
11235 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11236 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11238 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11239 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11243 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11244 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11247 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11248 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11253 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
11256 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11257 is system-dependent.
11261 @section Scoring Tips
11262 @cindex scoring tips
11268 @cindex scoring crossposts
11269 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11270 the @code{Xref} header.
11272 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11275 @item Multiple crossposts
11276 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11277 more than, say, 3 groups:
11279 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11282 @item Matching on the body
11283 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11284 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11285 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11286 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11287 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11288 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11289 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11292 @item Marking as read
11293 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11294 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11295 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11299 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11301 @item Negated character classes
11302 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11303 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11304 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11308 @node Reverse Scoring
11309 @section Reverse Scoring
11310 @cindex reverse scoring
11312 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11313 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11314 like this in your score file:
11318 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11323 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11324 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11327 @node Global Score Files
11328 @section Global Score Files
11329 @cindex global score files
11331 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11332 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11333 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11335 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11336 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11337 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11339 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11340 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11341 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11342 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11343 files are applicable to which group.
11345 Say you want to use the score file
11346 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11347 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11350 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11351 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11352 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11355 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11356 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11357 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11358 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11359 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11361 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11362 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11364 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11365 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11366 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11367 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11368 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11369 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11371 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11377 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11379 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11381 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11383 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11384 lowered out of existence.
11386 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11387 articles completely.
11390 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11391 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11392 old articles for a long time.
11395 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11396 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11397 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11398 holding our breath yet?
11402 @section Kill Files
11405 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11406 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11407 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11409 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11410 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11411 files into score files.
11413 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11414 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11415 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11416 that isn't a very good idea.
11418 Normal kill files look like this:
11421 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11422 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11426 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11427 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11429 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11430 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11433 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11438 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11439 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11440 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11443 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11444 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11445 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11448 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11453 @kindex M-k (Group)
11454 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11455 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11458 @kindex M-K (Group)
11459 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11460 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11463 Kill file variables:
11466 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11467 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11468 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11469 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11470 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11471 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11472 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11474 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11475 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11476 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11477 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11480 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11481 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11482 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11483 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11484 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11485 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11486 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11487 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11488 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11490 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11491 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11492 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11497 @node Converting Kill Files
11498 @section Converting Kill Files
11500 @cindex converting kill files
11502 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11503 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11504 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11507 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11508 You can fetch it from
11509 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11511 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11512 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11513 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11521 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11522 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11523 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11525 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11526 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11527 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11528 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11529 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11530 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11531 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11532 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11536 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11537 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11538 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11539 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11543 @node Using GroupLens
11544 @subsection Using GroupLens
11546 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11548 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11549 better bit in town is at the moment.
11551 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11555 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11556 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11557 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11558 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11560 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11561 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11562 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11563 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11565 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11566 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11567 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11571 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11572 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11573 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11574 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11575 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11576 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11579 @node Rating Articles
11580 @subsection Rating Articles
11582 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11583 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11584 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11585 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11588 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11593 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11594 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11595 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11598 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11599 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11600 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11601 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11602 threads in rec.humor.
11606 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11607 the score of the article you're reading.
11612 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11613 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11614 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11617 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11618 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11619 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11623 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11624 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11627 @node Displaying Predictions
11628 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11630 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11631 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11632 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11633 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11634 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11636 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11637 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11638 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11639 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11640 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11641 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11642 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11643 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11644 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11645 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11646 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11647 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11648 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11650 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11651 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11652 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11653 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11655 The following are legal values for that variable.
11658 @item prediction-spot
11659 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11662 @item confidence-interval
11663 A numeric confidence interval.
11665 @item prediction-bar
11666 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11668 @item confidence-bar
11669 Numerical confidence.
11671 @item confidence-spot
11672 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11674 @item prediction-num
11675 Plain-old numeric value.
11677 @item confidence-plus-minus
11678 Prediction +/i confidence.
11683 @node GroupLens Variables
11684 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11688 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11689 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11690 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11691 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11692 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11694 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11695 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11698 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11699 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11701 @item grouplens-score-offset
11702 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11703 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11706 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11707 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11708 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11713 @node Advanced Scoring
11714 @section Advanced Scoring
11716 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11717 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11718 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11719 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11720 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11722 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11726 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11727 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11728 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11732 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11733 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11735 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11736 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11737 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11738 non-@code{nil} value.
11740 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11741 operator, and various match operators.
11748 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11749 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11750 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11755 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11756 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11757 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11762 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11763 inverse of the value of its argument.
11767 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11768 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11769 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11770 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11771 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11772 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11773 the ancestry you want to go.
11775 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11776 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11777 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11778 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11779 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11782 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11783 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11785 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11786 when he's talking about Gnus:
11790 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11791 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11797 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11801 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11808 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11809 really don't want to read what he's written:
11813 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11814 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11818 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11819 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11820 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11827 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11828 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11829 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11830 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11834 The possibilities are endless.
11837 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11838 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11840 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11841 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11842 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11843 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11844 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11845 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11846 @samp{subject}) first.
11848 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11849 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11860 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11861 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11867 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11874 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11875 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11880 @section Score Decays
11881 @cindex score decays
11884 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11885 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11886 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11887 use them in any sensible way.
11889 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11890 @findex gnus-decay-score
11891 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11892 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11893 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11894 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11895 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11896 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11897 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11898 definition of that function:
11901 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11904 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11906 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11908 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11911 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11912 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11913 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11914 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11918 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11921 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11924 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11928 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11929 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11930 the new score, which should be an integer.
11932 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11933 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11940 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11941 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11942 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11943 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11944 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11945 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11946 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11947 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11948 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11949 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11950 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11951 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11952 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11953 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11954 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11958 @node Process/Prefix
11959 @section Process/Prefix
11960 @cindex process/prefix convention
11962 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11963 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11965 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11966 command to be performed on.
11970 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11971 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11972 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11973 with the current one.
11975 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11976 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11977 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11979 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11980 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11983 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11984 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11986 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11989 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11990 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11991 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11992 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11994 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11995 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11996 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11997 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11998 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11999 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
12000 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
12001 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
12005 @section Interactive
12006 @cindex interaction
12010 @item gnus-novice-user
12011 @vindex gnus-novice-user
12012 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
12013 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
12014 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
12015 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
12018 @item gnus-expert-user
12019 @vindex gnus-expert-user
12020 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
12021 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
12022 matter how strange.
12024 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
12025 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
12026 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
12027 is @code{t} by default.
12029 @item gnus-interactive-exit
12030 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
12031 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
12036 @node Formatting Variables
12037 @section Formatting Variables
12038 @cindex formatting variables
12040 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
12041 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
12042 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
12043 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
12044 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
12047 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
12048 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
12049 lots of percentages everywhere.
12052 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
12053 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
12054 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
12055 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
12058 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
12059 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
12060 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
12061 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
12062 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
12063 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
12064 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
12065 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
12067 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
12068 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
12070 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
12071 @findex gnus-update-format
12072 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
12073 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
12074 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
12075 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
12079 @node Formatting Basics
12080 @subsection Formatting Basics
12082 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
12083 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
12084 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
12086 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
12087 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
12088 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
12089 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
12090 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
12093 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
12094 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
12095 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
12096 less than 4 characters wide.
12099 @node Advanced Formatting
12100 @subsection Advanced Formatting
12102 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
12103 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
12104 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
12105 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
12107 These are the legal modifiers:
12112 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
12116 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12121 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12124 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12129 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12132 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12135 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12138 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12142 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12143 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12144 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12145 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12146 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12147 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12148 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12150 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12151 last operation, padding.
12153 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12154 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12155 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12156 @xref{Compilation}.
12159 @node User-Defined Specs
12160 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12162 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12163 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12164 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12165 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12166 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12167 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12168 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12169 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12170 should protect against that.
12172 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12173 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12174 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12175 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12179 @node Formatting Fonts
12180 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12182 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12183 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12184 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12185 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12188 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12189 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12190 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12191 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12192 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12193 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12195 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12198 ;; Create three face types.
12199 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12200 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12202 ;; We want the article count to be in
12203 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12204 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12205 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12207 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12208 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12210 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12211 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12212 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12215 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12216 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12218 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12219 mode-line variables.
12222 @node Windows Configuration
12223 @section Windows Configuration
12224 @cindex windows configuration
12226 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12228 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12229 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12230 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12231 @code{t} by default.
12233 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12234 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12235 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12238 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12239 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12240 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12244 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12245 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12246 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12247 possible names is listed below.
12249 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12250 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12253 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12257 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12258 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12259 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12260 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12261 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12262 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12263 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12264 size spec per split.
12266 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12269 Here's a more complicated example:
12272 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12273 (summary 0.25 point)
12274 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12278 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12279 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12280 occupy, not a percentage.
12282 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12283 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12284 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12285 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12286 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12289 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12292 (article (horizontal 1.0
12297 (summary 0.25 point)
12302 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12303 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12305 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12306 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12307 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12308 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12309 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12311 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12312 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12313 lines from the splits.
12315 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12319 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12320 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12321 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12322 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12323 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12324 size = number | frame-params
12325 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12328 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12329 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12330 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12331 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12333 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12334 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12335 @cindex window height
12336 @cindex window width
12337 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12338 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12339 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12340 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12341 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12342 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12344 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12345 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12346 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12347 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12349 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12350 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12351 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12352 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12353 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12354 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12355 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12356 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12357 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12358 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12359 configuration list.
12362 (gnus-configure-frame
12366 (article 0.3 point))
12374 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12375 @code{frame} split:
12378 (gnus-configure-frame
12381 (summary 0.25 point)
12383 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12384 (user-position . t)
12385 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12390 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12391 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12392 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12393 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12394 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12395 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12398 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12399 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12401 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12402 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12403 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12404 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12405 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12406 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12408 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12409 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12410 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12414 (message (horizontal 1.0
12415 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12417 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12422 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12423 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12424 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12425 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12426 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12429 (gnus-add-configuration
12430 '(article (vertical 1.0
12432 (summary .25 point)
12436 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12437 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12438 Gnus has been loaded.
12440 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12441 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12442 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12443 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12444 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12448 @section Compilation
12449 @cindex compilation
12450 @cindex byte-compilation
12452 @findex gnus-compile
12454 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12455 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12456 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12457 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12458 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12459 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12462 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12463 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12464 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12465 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12466 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12467 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12468 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12472 @section Mode Lines
12475 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12476 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12477 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12478 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12479 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12480 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12481 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12484 @cindex display-time
12486 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12487 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12488 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12489 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12490 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12491 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12492 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12493 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12496 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12498 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12499 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12501 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12502 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12503 (length display-time-string)))))
12506 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12507 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12510 @node Highlighting and Menus
12511 @section Highlighting and Menus
12513 @cindex highlighting
12516 @vindex gnus-visual
12517 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12518 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12519 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12522 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12523 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12526 @item group-highlight
12527 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12528 @item summary-highlight
12529 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12530 @item article-highlight
12531 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12533 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12535 Create menus in the group buffer.
12537 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12539 Create menus in the article buffer.
12541 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12543 Create menus in the server buffer.
12545 Create menus in the score buffers.
12547 Create menus in all buffers.
12550 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12551 buffers, you could say something like:
12554 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12557 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12560 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12563 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12564 in all Gnus buffers.
12566 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12569 @item gnus-mouse-face
12570 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12571 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12572 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12574 @item gnus-display-type
12575 @vindex gnus-display-type
12576 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12577 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12578 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12579 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12580 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12582 @item gnus-background-mode
12583 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12584 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12585 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12586 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12587 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12588 `gnus-display-type'.
12591 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12595 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12596 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12597 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12599 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12600 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12601 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12603 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12604 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12605 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12607 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12608 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12609 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12611 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12612 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12613 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12615 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12616 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12617 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12628 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12629 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12630 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12631 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12632 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12636 @vindex gnus-carpal
12637 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12638 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12639 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12644 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12645 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12646 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12648 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12649 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12650 Face used on buttons.
12652 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12653 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12654 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12656 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12657 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12658 Buttons in the group buffer.
12660 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12661 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12662 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12664 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12665 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12666 Buttons in the server buffer.
12668 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12669 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12670 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12673 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12674 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12675 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12683 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12684 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12685 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12686 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12687 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12689 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12690 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12691 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12693 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12694 been idle for thirty minutes:
12697 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12700 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12704 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12707 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12708 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12709 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12711 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12712 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12713 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12714 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12716 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12717 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12718 @var{idle} minutes.
12720 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12721 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12724 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12725 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12726 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12728 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12729 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12730 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12731 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12733 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12734 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12735 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12737 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12738 your @file{.gnus} file:
12740 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12742 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12745 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12746 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12747 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12748 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12749 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12750 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12751 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12752 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12754 @findex gnus-demon-init
12755 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12756 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12757 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12758 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12759 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12761 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12762 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12763 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12772 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12773 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12775 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12776 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12777 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12778 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12781 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12782 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12783 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12784 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12786 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12787 this will make spam disappear.
12789 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12792 @item gnus-use-nocem
12793 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12794 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12797 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12798 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12799 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12800 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12802 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12803 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12804 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12805 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12806 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12807 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12809 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12812 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12813 @cindex Chris Lewis
12814 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12815 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12818 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12819 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12820 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12822 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12824 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
12827 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12828 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12829 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12832 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12833 ones you want to listen to.
12835 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12836 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12837 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12838 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12840 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12841 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12842 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12843 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12844 might then see old spam.
12852 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12853 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12854 over your shoulder as you read news.
12857 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12858 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12859 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12860 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12861 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12866 @subsection Picon Basics
12868 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12871 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12872 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12873 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12874 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12875 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12876 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12877 @code{GIF} formats.
12880 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12881 your Web browser at
12882 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12884 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12885 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12886 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12889 @node Picon Requirements
12890 @subsection Picon Requirements
12892 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12893 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12896 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12898 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12899 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12900 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12901 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12905 @subsection Easy Picons
12907 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12908 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12911 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12912 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12913 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12914 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12919 @subsection Hard Picons
12921 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12922 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12923 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12924 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12925 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12929 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12930 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12931 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12932 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12933 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12934 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12935 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12936 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12940 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12941 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12943 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12944 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12945 displayed at the right time.
12947 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12948 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12950 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12951 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12952 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12953 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12954 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12956 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12957 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12958 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12959 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12960 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12961 is set to @code{article}.
12963 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12964 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12965 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12966 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12970 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12971 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12974 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12978 @node Picon Configuration
12979 @subsection Picon Configuration
12981 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12982 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12983 don't need to worry about.
12986 @item gnus-picons-database
12987 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12988 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12989 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12990 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12992 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12993 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12994 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12997 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12998 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12999 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
13000 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
13002 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
13003 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
13004 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
13005 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
13006 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
13008 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13009 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13010 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
13011 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
13012 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
13013 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
13015 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13016 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13017 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
13018 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
13020 @item gnus-picons-buffer
13021 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
13022 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
13023 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
13032 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
13033 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
13034 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
13036 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
13037 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
13038 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
13039 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
13040 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
13041 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
13042 @code{undo} function.
13044 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
13045 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
13046 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
13047 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
13048 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
13049 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
13050 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
13051 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
13052 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
13053 never be totally undoable.
13055 @findex gnus-undo-mode
13056 @vindex gnus-use-undo
13058 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
13059 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
13060 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
13061 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
13066 @section Moderation
13069 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
13070 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
13071 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
13074 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
13078 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
13081 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
13083 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
13088 You split your incoming mail by matching on
13089 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
13090 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
13093 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
13094 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
13097 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
13098 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
13102 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
13105 (setq gnus-moderated-list
13106 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
13110 @node XEmacs Enhancements
13111 @section XEmacs Enhancements
13114 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
13115 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13118 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13119 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13120 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13121 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13122 unusual directory structure.
13124 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13125 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13126 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13127 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13129 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13130 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13131 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13132 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13133 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13134 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13136 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13137 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13138 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13139 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13140 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13142 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13143 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13144 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13146 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13147 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13148 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13150 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13151 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13152 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13154 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13155 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13156 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13162 @node Various Various
13163 @section Various Various
13169 @item gnus-directory
13170 @vindex gnus-directory
13171 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
13172 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
13173 if that variable isn't set.
13175 @item gnus-default-directory
13176 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13177 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13178 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13179 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13180 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13181 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13182 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13185 @vindex gnus-verbose
13186 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13187 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13188 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13189 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13190 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13192 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13193 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13194 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13195 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13197 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13198 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13199 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13200 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13201 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13202 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13203 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13204 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13205 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13208 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13209 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13210 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13211 the operation described above.
13213 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13214 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13216 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13217 @cindex characters in file names
13218 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13219 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13220 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13223 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13227 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13228 Windows (phooey) systems.
13230 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13231 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13232 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13233 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13234 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13236 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13237 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13238 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13239 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13240 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13242 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13243 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13244 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13253 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13254 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13256 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13258 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13264 Not because of victories @*
13267 but for the common sunshine,@*
13269 the largess of the spring.
13273 but for the day's work done@*
13274 as well as I was able;@*
13275 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13276 but at the common table.@*
13281 @chapter Appendices
13284 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13285 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13286 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13287 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13288 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13289 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13290 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13298 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13299 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13301 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13302 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13303 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13304 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13305 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13307 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13308 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13309 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13310 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13311 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13312 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13314 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13315 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13316 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13317 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13319 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13320 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
13322 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
13323 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
13325 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
13327 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13328 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Mamey Sapote Gnus''
13329 -- don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13330 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13331 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13335 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13336 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13337 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13338 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13339 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13340 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13341 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13348 What's the point of Gnus?
13350 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13351 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13352 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13353 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13354 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13355 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13356 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13357 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13358 keep track of millions of people who post?
13360 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13361 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13362 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13363 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13364 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13365 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13366 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13367 of you to explore and invent.
13369 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13372 @node Compatibility
13373 @subsection Compatibility
13375 @cindex compatibility
13376 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13377 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13378 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13383 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13387 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13390 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13393 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13394 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13395 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13396 important variables have their values copied into their global
13397 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13398 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13400 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13401 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13402 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13403 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13404 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13408 @cindex highlighting
13409 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13410 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13411 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13412 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13413 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13414 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13417 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13418 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13419 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13420 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13422 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13423 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13424 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13425 to stop doing it the old way.
13427 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13429 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13431 @cindex reporting bugs
13433 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13434 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13435 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13439 @subsection Conformity
13441 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13442 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13449 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13453 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13455 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13456 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13457 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13458 the next inspection.
13460 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13461 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13462 We do have some breaches to this one.
13467 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13468 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13471 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13472 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13473 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13474 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13475 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13478 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13479 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13480 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13481 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13482 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13483 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13488 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13489 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13494 @subsection Emacsen
13500 Gnus should work on :
13505 Emacs 19.32 and up.
13508 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
13511 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
13515 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13516 reliably, at least.
13518 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
13519 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
13520 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
13525 @subsection Contributors
13526 @cindex contributors
13528 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13529 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13530 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13531 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13532 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13533 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13534 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13535 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13536 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13537 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13539 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13545 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13548 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13549 well as numerous other things).
13552 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13555 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13558 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13559 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13562 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13563 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13566 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13569 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13572 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13575 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13578 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13579 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13582 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13585 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13588 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13591 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13595 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13598 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13601 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13604 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13608 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13617 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13621 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13632 Massimo Campostrini,
13636 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13650 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13651 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13655 Thor Kristoffersen,
13666 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13672 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13680 Randal L. Schwartz,
13697 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13700 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13703 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13704 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13708 @subsection New Features
13709 @cindex new features
13712 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13713 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13714 * Red Gnus:: The future---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
13717 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13718 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13719 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13723 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13725 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13730 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13731 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13734 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13735 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13738 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13741 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13742 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13743 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13746 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13747 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13748 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13749 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13752 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13753 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13756 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13757 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13758 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13761 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13762 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13765 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13766 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13767 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13770 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13771 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13772 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13775 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13776 the @file{.emacs} file.
13779 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13780 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13783 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13784 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13787 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13788 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13791 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13792 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13795 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13796 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13799 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13802 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13803 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13806 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13807 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13810 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13811 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13814 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13817 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13818 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13821 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13825 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13829 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13830 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13833 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13839 @node September Gnus
13840 @subsubsection September Gnus
13842 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13847 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13848 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13852 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13853 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13857 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13861 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13862 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13865 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13869 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13872 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13875 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13878 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13882 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13883 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13886 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13890 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13894 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13898 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13902 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13905 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13906 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13909 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13913 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13914 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13917 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13920 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13921 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13922 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13925 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13929 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13932 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13936 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13937 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13940 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13941 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13944 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13945 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13948 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13949 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13950 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13953 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13954 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13957 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13960 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13963 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13964 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13968 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13971 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13974 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13975 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13978 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13982 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13985 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13988 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13992 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13995 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
13999 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
14002 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
14005 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
14006 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
14009 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
14010 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
14014 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
14015 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
14018 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
14022 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
14023 buffer to allow easier treatment.
14026 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
14029 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
14033 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
14037 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
14038 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
14041 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
14045 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
14046 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14049 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
14050 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14053 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
14057 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14060 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14061 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
14065 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
14068 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
14074 @subsubsection Red Gnus
14076 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
14081 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
14084 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
14085 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14088 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
14089 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
14093 Article washing status can be displayed in the
14094 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
14097 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
14100 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14101 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14104 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14108 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14109 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14112 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14113 Server Internals}).
14116 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14120 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14123 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14124 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14127 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14128 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14129 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14132 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14133 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14136 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14137 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14140 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14144 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14145 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14148 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14149 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14152 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14156 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14159 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14163 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14164 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14167 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14168 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14171 A new command for reading collections of documents
14172 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14173 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14176 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14180 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14181 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14184 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14185 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14186 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14189 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14190 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14194 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14198 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14202 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14206 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14210 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14211 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14214 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
14217 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
14223 @node Newest Features
14224 @subsection Newest Features
14227 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14230 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14234 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14236 Really do unbinhexing.
14239 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14240 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14242 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14243 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14244 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14249 @section The Manual
14253 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14254 either @code{texi2dvi}
14256 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14257 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14259 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14261 The following conventions have been used:
14266 This is a @samp{string}
14269 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14272 This is a @file{file}
14275 This is a @code{symbol}
14279 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14283 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14286 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14289 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14292 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14293 ever get them confused.
14297 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14298 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14299 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14300 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14301 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14302 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14303 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14310 @section Terminology
14312 @cindex terminology
14317 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14318 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14319 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14320 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14321 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14325 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14326 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14327 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14328 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14332 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14336 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14341 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14342 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14343 is all done by the backends.
14347 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14348 default, way of getting news.
14352 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14353 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14357 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14358 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14362 A message that has been posted as news.
14365 @cindex mail message
14366 A message that has been mailed.
14370 A mail message or news article
14374 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14379 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14384 A line from the head of an article.
14388 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14389 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14393 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14394 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14395 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14396 normal @sc{head} format.
14400 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14401 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14402 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14403 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14404 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14405 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14407 @item killed groups
14408 @cindex killed groups
14409 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14410 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14412 @item zombie groups
14413 @cindex zombie groups
14414 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14417 @cindex active file
14418 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14419 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14420 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14423 @cindex bogus groups
14424 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14425 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14426 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14430 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14432 @item select method
14433 @cindex select method
14434 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14437 @item virtual server
14438 @cindex virtual server
14439 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14440 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14441 whole is a virtual server.
14445 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14446 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14449 @item ephemeral groups
14450 @cindex ephemeral groups
14451 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14452 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14453 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14456 @cindex solid groups
14457 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14458 group buffer are solid groups.
14463 @node Customization
14464 @section Customization
14465 @cindex general customization
14467 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14468 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14469 for some quite common situations.
14472 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14473 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14474 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14475 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14479 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14480 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14482 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14483 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14484 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14488 @item gnus-read-active-file
14489 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14490 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14491 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14492 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14493 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14495 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14496 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14497 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14498 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14502 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14503 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14505 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14506 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14507 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14511 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14512 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14513 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14514 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14515 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14517 @item gnus-visible-headers
14518 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14519 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14520 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14521 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14523 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14524 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14526 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14527 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14528 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14531 @item gnus-use-full-window
14532 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14533 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14534 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14535 want to read them anyway.
14537 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14538 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14541 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14542 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14543 lines, which might save some time.
14547 @node Little Disk Space
14548 @subsection Little Disk Space
14551 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14552 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14556 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14557 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14558 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14559 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14562 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14563 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14564 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14565 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14566 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14572 @subsection Slow Machine
14573 @cindex slow machine
14575 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14576 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14578 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14579 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14581 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14582 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14583 summary buffer faster.
14585 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14586 processing a bit faster.
14589 @node Troubleshooting
14590 @section Troubleshooting
14591 @cindex troubleshooting
14593 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14601 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14604 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14605 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14609 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14610 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14611 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14612 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14615 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14619 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14620 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14621 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14622 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14623 something like that.
14626 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14629 @cindex reporting bugs
14631 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14633 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14634 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14635 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14636 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14638 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14639 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14640 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14641 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14644 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14645 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14646 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14647 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14648 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14649 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14651 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14652 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14653 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14656 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14657 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14659 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14660 @cindex ding mailing list
14661 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14662 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14665 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14666 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14668 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14669 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14670 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14671 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14674 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14675 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14676 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14677 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14678 and general method of operations.
14681 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14682 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14683 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14684 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14685 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14686 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14687 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14691 @node Backend Interface
14692 @subsection Backend Interface
14694 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14695 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14696 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14697 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14698 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14699 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14701 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14702 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14703 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14704 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14705 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14706 been opened, the function should fail.
14708 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14709 name. Take this example:
14713 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14714 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14717 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14718 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14720 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14721 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14722 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14724 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14725 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14726 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14728 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14729 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14730 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14731 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14732 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14733 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14736 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14737 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14738 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14739 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14742 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14745 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14748 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14749 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14750 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14751 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14752 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14753 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
14757 @node Required Backend Functions
14758 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14762 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14764 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14765 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14766 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14767 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14769 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14770 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14771 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14772 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14774 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14775 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14776 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14777 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14778 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14779 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14780 number, do maximum fetches.
14782 Here's an example HEAD:
14785 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14786 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14787 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14788 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14789 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14790 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14791 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14793 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14794 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14795 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14799 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14800 these in the data buffer.
14802 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14806 head = error / valid-head
14807 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14808 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14809 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14810 header = <text> eol
14813 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14814 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14818 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14819 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14820 field = <text except TAB>
14823 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14827 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14829 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14830 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14832 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14833 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14834 server. In fact, it should do so.
14836 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14837 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14840 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14842 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14843 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14846 There should be no data returned.
14849 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14851 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14852 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14853 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14854 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14856 There should be no data returned.
14859 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14861 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14862 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14863 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14864 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14866 There should be no data returned.
14869 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14871 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14873 There should be no data returned.
14876 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14878 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14879 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14880 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14881 it would be nice if that were possible.
14883 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14884 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14885 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14886 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14887 its article buffer.
14889 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14890 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14891 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14892 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14893 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14894 on successful article retrievement.
14897 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14899 Make @var{group} the current group.
14901 There should be no data returned by this function.
14904 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14906 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14907 making @var{group} the current group.
14909 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14912 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14915 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14918 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
14919 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14920 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14921 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14922 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14923 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14924 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14925 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14928 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14929 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14930 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14934 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14936 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14937 a no-op on most backends.
14939 There should be no data returned.
14942 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14944 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14947 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14950 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14951 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14954 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14955 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14958 active-file = *active-line
14959 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14961 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14964 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14965 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14966 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14969 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14971 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14972 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14973 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14974 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14975 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14976 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14978 There should be no result data from this function.
14983 @node Optional Backend Functions
14984 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14988 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14990 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14991 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14992 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
14994 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
14995 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
14996 former is in the same format as the data from
14997 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
14998 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
15001 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
15005 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
15007 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
15008 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
15009 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
15010 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
15011 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
15012 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
15014 There should be no result data from this function.
15017 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
15019 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
15020 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
15021 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
15022 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
15023 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
15024 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
15025 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
15026 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
15028 There should be no result data from this function.
15031 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
15033 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
15034 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
15035 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
15036 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
15037 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
15039 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
15040 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
15041 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
15044 There should be no result data from this function.
15047 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
15049 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
15050 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
15051 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
15052 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
15053 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
15054 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
15055 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
15057 There should be no result data from this function.
15060 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
15062 The result data from this function should be a description of
15066 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
15068 description = <text>
15071 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
15073 The result data from this function should be the description of all
15074 groups available on the server.
15077 description-buffer = *description-line
15081 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
15083 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
15084 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
15085 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
15088 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15090 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
15092 There should be no return data.
15095 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
15097 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
15098 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
15099 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
15100 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
15101 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
15104 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
15107 There should be no result data returned.
15110 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15113 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15114 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15116 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15117 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15118 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15119 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15120 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15121 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15123 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15124 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15127 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15128 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15130 There should be no data returned.
15133 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15135 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15136 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15137 this function in short order.
15139 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15140 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15142 There should be no data returned.
15145 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15147 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15148 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15150 There should be no data returned.
15153 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15155 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15156 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15157 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15159 There should be no data returned.
15162 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15164 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15165 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15167 There should be no data returned.
15172 @node Error Messaging
15173 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15175 @findex nnheader-report
15176 @findex nnheader-get-report
15177 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15178 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15179 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15180 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15181 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15182 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15185 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15187 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15190 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15191 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15192 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15193 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15195 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15196 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15197 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15200 @node Writing New Backends
15201 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15203 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15204 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15205 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15206 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15207 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15210 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15211 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15212 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15214 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15215 package called @code{nnoo}.
15217 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15218 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15225 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15226 parameters. For instance:
15229 (nnoo-declare nndir
15233 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15234 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15237 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15238 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15239 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15241 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15242 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15243 a function in those backends.
15246 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15247 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15248 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15251 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15252 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15253 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15255 @item nnoo-define-basics
15256 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15260 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15264 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15265 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15266 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15268 @item nnoo-map-functions
15269 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15270 functions from the parent backends.
15273 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15274 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15275 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15278 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15279 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15280 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15281 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15284 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15285 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15286 haven't already been defined.
15292 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15296 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15297 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15298 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15303 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15306 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15307 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15311 (require 'nnheader)
15315 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15317 (nnoo-declare nndir
15320 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15321 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15322 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15324 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15325 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15328 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15329 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15330 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15332 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15333 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15335 ;;; Interface functions.
15337 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15339 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15340 (setq nndir-directory
15341 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15343 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15344 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15345 (push `(nndir-current-group
15346 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15348 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15349 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15351 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15353 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15354 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15355 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15356 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15357 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15361 nnmh-status-message
15363 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15369 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15370 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15372 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15373 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15374 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15375 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15377 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15378 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15383 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15386 The abilities can be:
15390 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15392 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15394 This backend supports both mail and news.
15396 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15399 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15400 articles and groups.
15402 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15403 true for almost all backends.
15404 @item prompt-address
15405 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15406 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15407 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15411 @node Mail-like Backends
15412 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
15414 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
15415 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
15416 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
15417 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
15420 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
15421 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
15422 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
15425 It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
15426 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
15429 This function takes four parameters.
15433 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
15436 @item exit-function
15437 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
15439 @item temp-directory
15440 Where the temporary files should be stored.
15443 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
15444 performed for one group only.
15447 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
15448 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
15449 find the article number assigned to this article.
15451 The function also uses the following variables:
15452 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
15453 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
15454 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
15455 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
15459 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
15460 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
15464 @node Score File Syntax
15465 @subsection Score File Syntax
15467 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15468 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15469 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15471 Here's a typical score file:
15475 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15482 BNF definition of a score file:
15485 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15486 element = rule / atom
15487 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15488 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15489 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15490 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15492 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15493 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15494 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15495 date-header = "date"
15496 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15497 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15498 score = "nil" / <integer>
15499 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15500 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15501 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15502 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15503 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15504 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15505 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15506 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15507 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15508 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15509 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15510 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15511 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15512 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15513 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15514 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15515 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15516 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15517 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15518 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15519 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15520 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15521 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15522 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15523 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15524 eval = "eval" space <form>
15525 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15528 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15531 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15532 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15533 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15534 one looong line, then that's ok.
15536 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15541 @subsection Headers
15543 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15544 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15545 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15546 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15548 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15549 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15550 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15551 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15552 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15553 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15554 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15556 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15557 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15558 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15559 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15560 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15562 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15569 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15570 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15572 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15573 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15574 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15575 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15577 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15581 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15584 is transformed into
15587 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15590 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15591 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15594 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15597 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15598 is slightly tricky:
15601 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15607 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15610 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15616 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15623 and is equal to the previous range.
15625 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15626 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15627 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15631 range = simple-range / normal-range
15632 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15633 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15634 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15635 number *[ " " contents ]
15638 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15639 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15640 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15641 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15642 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15647 @subsection Group Info
15649 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15650 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15651 describes the group.
15653 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15654 second is a more complex one:
15657 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15659 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15660 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15662 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15665 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15666 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15667 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15668 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15669 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15670 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15671 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15673 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15674 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15675 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15677 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15680 info = "(" group space level space read
15681 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15682 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15683 group = quote <string> quote
15684 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15686 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15687 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15688 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15689 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15692 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15693 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15697 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15698 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15702 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15703 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15704 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15706 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15707 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15708 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15709 Gnus, that's very useful.
15711 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15712 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15713 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15714 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15715 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15716 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15717 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15718 following function:
15721 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15725 (,function ,@@args))
15729 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15730 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15731 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15734 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15735 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15736 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15739 @node Various File Formats
15740 @subsection Various File Formats
15743 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15744 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15748 @node Active File Format
15749 @subsubsection Active File Format
15751 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15752 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15755 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15758 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15759 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15760 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15761 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15762 no.general 1000 900 y
15765 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15768 active = *group-line
15769 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15770 group = <non-white-space string>
15772 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15773 low-number = <positive integer>
15774 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15778 @node Newsgroups File Format
15779 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15781 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15782 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15783 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15786 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15787 Here's the definition:
15791 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15792 group = <non-white-space string>
15794 description = <string>
15798 @node Emacs for Heathens
15799 @section Emacs for Heathens
15801 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15802 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15803 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15804 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15805 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15806 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15807 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15811 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15812 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15817 @subsection Keystrokes
15821 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15824 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15827 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15828 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15829 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15830 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15831 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15832 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15834 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15835 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15836 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15837 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15838 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15839 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15840 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15842 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15843 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15844 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15845 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15846 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15847 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15848 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15850 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15851 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15852 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15853 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15854 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15860 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15862 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15863 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15864 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15865 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15867 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15868 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15869 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15870 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15871 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15872 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15873 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15876 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15877 write the following:
15880 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15883 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15884 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15885 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15888 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15889 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15890 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15891 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15892 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15894 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15895 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15896 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15900 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15904 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15907 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15908 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15911 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15914 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15915 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15918 @include gnus-faq.texi